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MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND 
TO-MORROW 


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THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON   •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


MEXICO 

TODAY  AND   TO-MORROW 


BY 

E.   D.  TROWBRIDGE 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1919 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright.  1919 

By  the  macmillan  company 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  January,  1919. 


PKEFACE 

We  have,  in  the  United  States,  a  very  confused  idea 
of  what  has  been  happening  in  Mexico  during-  the  past 
seven  or  eight  years.  Beyond  knowing  that  there  have 
been  revolutions  and  counter-revolutions,  with  a  mass  of 
disorder,  and  that  we  have,  two  or  three  times,  been  on 
the  verge  of  war  with  our  next  door  neighbor,  we  know 
little  of  what  it  is  all  about.  In  the  following  pages 
I  have  endeavored  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  social, 
industrial,  political  and  economic  conditions  which 
have  prevailed  in  Mexico  since  the  fall  of  the  Diaz  re- 
gime in  1911,  and  to  outline  briefly  some  of  the  prob- 
lems which  confront  the  country. 

I  have  not  attempted,  in  this  work,  anything  like  a 
complete  history  of  Mexico,  but  I  have  felt  that,  for  a 
full  understanding  of  present-day  conditions,  it  is  essen- 
tial to  examine  early  Mexican  history  and  the  history  of 
Spanish  rule  and  subsequent  events  insofar  as  these 
periods  have  affected  national  life.  In  dealing  with 
events  antedating  what  may  be  termed  modern  Mexico 
I  have  made  no  attempt  at  original  research,  and,  so 
far  as  concerns  anything  prior  to  1900,  the  work  here 
presented  is  a  repetition  or  reflection  of  the  findings  or 
opinions  of  Fiske,  Prescott,  Bancroft,  Luis  Perez  Verdia 
and  other  authorities.  The  story  of  subsequent  events  is 
based  largely  on  personal  experience  or  observation,  and 
on  opinions  formed  through  contact  with  all  classes  of 
Mexican  society.  I  have  endeavored,  in  the  hope  of 
aiding  in  a  better  understanding  of  the  whole  situation, 


PEEFACE 

to  present  the  Mexican  viewpoint,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
outsider,  on  questions  of  domestic  affairs  and  foreign 
relations. 

I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  to  Senores  Luis  Cabrera, 
Ignadio  Bonillas,  Carlos  Basave,  Eduardo  del  Easo, 
Eafacl  I^ieto,  V.  M.  Gutierrez,  J.  M.  Cardenas  and 
other  Mexican  friends  for  facilities  given  me  for  obtain- 
ing data;  to  Mr.  George  F.  Weeks  of  Washington  for 
chronological  data ;  and  to  Mr.  C.  W.  Van  Law  of  Bos- 
ton for  valuable  suggestions. 

Edward  D.  Trowbridge. 

Detroit,  December  9,  1918. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Ancient  Mexico  and  the  Aztecs     ....  1 

II  Aztec  Civilization 10 

III  The   Montezumas 22 

IV  The  Spanish  Conquest 31 

V  Spanish  Mexico 39 

VI  Independence 50 

VII  Madame  Calderon  De  La  Barca 61 

VIII  American  War  —  French  Occupation  ...  80 

IX  Porfirio  Diaz 91 

X  The  Cientificos 97 

XI  Social  Conditions 105 

XII  Hygienic    Conditions 115 

XIII  Agrarian  and  Other  Problems 119 

XIV  Madero 130 

XV  Huerta 140 

XVI  Carranza  —  Villa  —  Zapata         .....  151 

XVII  Difficult  Conditions 167 

XVIII  Carranza  and  His  Troubles 179 

XIX  The  New  Constitution 202 

XX  Constitutional  Government 222 

XXI  FiNANCL^L  Needs 233 

XXII  Mexico  and  the  World  War 247 

XXIII  Mexico  and  Foreign  Capital 261 

XXIV  Agrarian  and  Other  Problems 273 


MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

CHAPTER  I 
ANCIENT  MEXICO  AND  THE  AZTECS 

Mexico  is  a  land  of  vivid,  startling  contrasts.  The 
great  Mexican  Plateau  is  a  region  bathed  in  perpetual, 
brilliant  sunshine;  the  Mexican  tropical  forests  are 
vast,  somber  jungles  into  which  the  sunshine  barely  fil- 
ters. It  is  a  land  of  mystery,  and  a  land  of  common- 
place dirt  and  existence.  Areas  of  fabulously  rich  soil 
contrast  with  arid  desert  regions.  In  Mexican  history 
there  are,  on  the  one  hand,  romance,  adventure,  chiv- 
alry, sacrifice,  lofty  ideals;  on  the  other,  oppression, 
cruelty,  sordid  ambition,  pestilence.  Great  wealth 
confronts  the  direst  poverty.  The  lights  are  always 
strong,  the  shadows  always  dark. 

Much  has  been  written  of  Mexican  history,  of  the 
early  architecture,  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  of  wars  and 
revolutions,  of  industrial  growth  and  possibilities. 
The  purpose  of  these  works  has  been  to  make  scientific 
examination  of  the  life  of  early  American  peoples,  to 
give  purely  chronological  relation  of  the  course  of 
events  in  the  country,  or  to  treat  the  question  from  the 
viewpoint  of  world  developments  in  commerce  and  in- 
dustry. Little  has  been  written  from  the  viewpoint  of 
the  social  life  of  the  Mexican  people.  It  is  intended  in 
the  following  pages,  to  attempt  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
conditions  of  the  life  of  the  people,  of  the  factors  which 

1 


2       MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

led  up  to  the  turbulent  years  through  which  Mexico  has 
passed,  and  of  the  problems  which  confront  the  coun- 
try. It  is  necessary,  however,  in  order  to  reach  an  un- 
derstanding of  present  conditions,  to  review  early  his- 
tory, and  that  of  the  Spanish  rule  in  Mexico,  in  so  far 
as  these  have  influenced  the  development  of  the  social 
conditions  of  the  people. 

Who  the  original  inhabitants  of  Mexico  were,  and 
w^here  they  came  from,  are  questions  veiled  in  impene- 
trable mystery.  We  are  apt  to  think  of  the  Aztecs  as 
the  early  people  of  Mexico.  They,  however,  were  rela- 
tively late  comers.  In  1870  there  was  found  at  Te- 
quizquiac,  in  a  geological  formation  of  the  iSTezoic  pe- 
riod (the  period  of  fauna  gigantica),  a  skull  of  a  cow, 
carved  in  stone,  and  human  bones  have  been  found  in 
old  geological  formation,  indicating  that  the  country 
was  inhabited  at  a  very  remote  period.  The  first  his- 
toric period  in  Mexico  was  that  in  which  the  gTeat  stone 
monuments  and  temples  were  erected  by  the  Itzaes,  a 
race  whose  civilization  spread  over  Central  America 
and  thence  along  the  West  Coast  of  South  America. 
The  monuments,  constructed  of  huge  blocks  of  stone, 
were  covered  with  rich  carvings  having  many  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Assyrian  and  early  Egyptian 
monuments.  The  carvings  are  historical  records,  with 
figures  and  groups  of  figures  used  much  as  hieroglyphics 
were  used  by  the  Egyptians,  and  while  some,  by  anal- 
ogy or  by  traditions  picked  up  by  early  Spanish  priests, 
have  been  deciphered,  the  key  to  this  lost  ideographic 
language  has  never  been  found.  In  general,  the  early 
monuments  may  be  grouped  into  three  divisions: 
Those  of  the  Itzaes,  in  Yucatan  and  Central  America; 
those  of  the  Mixtecos  and  Zapotecos,  branches  of  the 
]\raya  race,  in  Mitla,  (in  the  State  of  Oaxaca),  at 
Xochicalco,   (in  the  State  of  Morelos)   and  at  various 


ANCIENT  MEXICO  AND  THE  AZTECS       3 

points  in  the  States  of  Puebla  and  Guerrero ;  and  those 
of  the  Toltecs,  including  the  great  pyramids  erected  at 
Teotihuacan,  pyramids  at  Cholula  and  other  points, 
and  the  ruins  of  great  temples  and  buildings  at 
Tollan  (Tula),  all  points  within  a  hundred  miles  of 
Mexico  City.  Some  of  the  carvings  in  Yucatan  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  Itzaes  came  from  the  East,  which, 
if  true,  would  give  them  North  African  or  Asiatic 
origin.  These  people  were  star  worshipers,  and  had 
a  theocratic  form  of  government.  They  built,  as  a 
capital,  the  city  of  Palenque,  in  Yucatan,  whose  ruins 
constitute  the  most  elaborate  found  in  the  new  world. 
Palenque  probably  antedates  the  Christian  era  by  one 
thousand  to  two  thousand  years. 

The  Itzaes  were  succeeded,  perhaps  overthrown,  by 
the  Mayas,  whose  origin  is  also  lost  in  obscurity.  The 
Mayas  were  of  the  Nahoa  family.  All  legendary  and 
monumental  records  indicate  that  this  race  came  from 
the  North,  and  probably  settled  in  Yucatan  in  the  early 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Definite  Mexican  his- 
tory begins  with  the  Toltecs.  Luis  Perez  Verdia,  whose 
work,  "  Historia  de  Mexico,"  qualifies  him  to  speak 
with  authority,  says  that  the  Toltecs  were  settled  in 
California,  north  of  the  Gila  River,  at  a  very  early 
date,  and  that  their  earliest  legends  and  traditions  indi- 
cated that  they  were  of  Asiatic  origin.  Perhaps  they 
came  from  the  far  North,  after  following  the  chain  of 
islands  along  the  Bering  Sea.  In  any  event,  they  had  a 
capital  called  Chalchicatzincan,  probably  in  California. 
After  some  civil  strife,  seven  chiefs,  with  a  large  fol- 
lowing, started  South  at  a  date  computed  to  be  544  a.  d. 
They  moved  from  time  to  time,  finally  establishing  the 
town  of  Tollanzinco  in  645,  later,  in  (i61,  establishing 
their  capital  at  Tollan  (Tula),  fifty  miles  from  the 
present  Mexican  capital.     Here  they  built  a  great  city, 


4       MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

grew  in  numbers  and  power,  and  finally  dominated  the 
whole  of  the  Mexican  Valley  region.  Their  govern- 
ment, which  had  been  a  tribal  one  headed  by  two  chiefs, 
and  five  sub-chiefs,  was  changed  into  an  absolute  mon- 
archy. 

In  any  attempts  to  study  the  very  early  history  of 
Mexico  one  of  the  difficulties  of  determining  anything 
as  to  the  age  of  monuments  is  due  to  the  tropical  and 
semi-tropical  plant  life.  Buildings,  once  abandoned, 
soon  disappear  under  the  profusion  of  foliage,  and 
only  chance  excavation  brings  to  light  what  may  have 
been  an  important  city  centuries  ago.  At  Necaxa,  in 
the  State  of  Puebla,  some  American  engineers  engaged 
on  a  large  construction  job,  undertook  to  open  up  a 
large  mound,  evidently  some  sort  of  a  ruin.  On  digging 
down  six  feet  they  found  the  walls  of  a  Toltec  temple, 
which  they  uncovered.  The  building  was  of  massive 
hewn  stone,  paved  with  heavy  flagstones.  One  of  the 
latter  was  out  of  place,  and,  on  digging  into  the  hole 
where  it  had  been  the  investigators  found  a  small 
earthen  jar  containing  two  sixpence  pieces  of  George 
III !  The  building  had  evidently  been  used,  prob- 
ably as  a  residence,  as  late  as  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  was  so  deeply  buried  in  loam 
that  the  tops  of  its  walls  were  six  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. On  the  great  Mexican  plateau,  with  its  altitude 
of  8,000  feet,  plant  life  is  not  so  luxuriant,  and  monu- 
ments of  ancient  days  do  not  disappear  in  this  way. 
However,  much  of  the  carved  or  written  record  of  an- 
cient days  has  been  blotted  out  by  the  fanaticism  of  the 
Conquerors. 

During  the  Toltec  domination  another  race,  the 
Chichimeca,  had  probably  settled  in  the  Mexico  Val- 
ley. Their  origin  is  obscure,  and  little  is  kno^vn  of 
them  save  that  they  came  from  the  North.     Whether 


AKCIENT  MEXICO  AND  THE  AZTECS       5 

they  succeeded  to  the  power  of  the  Toltecs  through 
prosperity  due  to  tribal  growth  and  energy,  or  whether 
they  were  invaders  who  overthrew  the  Toltecs,  is  not 
clear.  The  Toltec  rule  ended  in  1116,  perhaps  some- 
what earlier,  and  there  is  a  lapse  of  some  years  to  1170, 
when,  according  to  the  best  evidence,  the  history  of 
Chichimec  rule  began.  In  any  event,  the  Chichiipecs 
apparently  came  in  great  numbers,  divided  into  several 
distinct  tribes  which  settled  around  the  borders  of  the 
Valley  Lakes.  Of  these  tribes  the  Acolhuans,  later 
known  as  the  Tezcucans,  were  the  most  powerful,  and 
their  chief  exercised  a  sort  of  feudal  control  over  the 
other  tribes.  The  Acolhuans  settled  at  Texcoco,  where, 
before  long,  their  crude  huts,  built  of  reeds,  gave  way 
to  buildings  of  brick  and  stone,  and  the  foundations 
were  laid  for  a  permanent  and  powerful  government. 
The  Xochimilcos  settled  south  of  Lake  Chalco,  the 
Tepanecs  at  Atzcapozalco,  the  Chalcos  east  of  Lake 
Chalco,  and  the  Tlaxcaltecs  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Tex- 
coco. The  Tlaxcaltecs,  due  to  tribal  warfare,  withdrew 
early,  settling  at  Tlaxcallan.  Of  the  remaining,  the 
Acolhuans  outstripped  the  others,  and  their  capital, 
Texcoco,  soon  became  the  most  important  plac^n  the 
whole  of  Mexico  Valley.  TJiis  city  is  credited  with 
having  had  200,000  inhabitants,  ^living  in  30,000 
houses.  As  the  Tezcucans .  developed  picfture  writing 
to  a  high  degree  a  good  deal  of  their  history  has  been 
preserved.  Ixtlilxochitl,  a  descendaM  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily, early  in  the  days  of  Spanish  rule  wrote  an  ex- 
haustive history  of  the  Kingdom."  Ixtlilxochitl,  fortu- 
nately, lived  at  a  period  so  close  to  the  days  of  Tezcu- 
can  domination  that  he  was  able  to  get  much  accurate 
information  as  to  the  conditions  of  the  life  of  the 
people,  social  ciistoms,  and  so  forth.  We  have,  there- 
fore, a  graphic  picture  of  a  civilization,  quite  highly 


6       MEXICO  TO-DAY  AKD  TO-MOREOW 

developed  in  many  respects,  existing  at  a  period  when 
the  greater  portion  of  the  continent  was  occupied  only 
by  savages.  The  royal  palace,  which  included  all  pub- 
lic buildings,  covered  a  tract  of  land  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  long  by  half  a  mile  wide.  The  royal  quarters 
were  luxuriously  embellished  with  alabaster  walls  and 
beautiful  tapestries  of  feather  work.  In  the  courts 
were  many  varieties  of  trees,  and  there  existed  quite 
elaborate  buildings  devoted  to  specimens  of  animal  and 
bird  life.  There  was  also  an  aquarium  containing 
specimens  of  fish  of  the  kingdom,  and  many  fish  brought 
from  distant  points.  An  elaborate  system  of  courts 
was  established,  and  something  of  education  was  at- 
tempted under  the  care  of  the  priesthood.  The  great- 
est development  of  the  kingdom  was  under  Nezahual- 
coyotl,  who  died  in  1470. 

The  Aztecs,  another  race  from  the  jSTorth,  probably 
from  California,  started  wandering  southward  some 
time  in  the  twelfth  century.  Traces  of  their  migTation 
are  found  in  Arizona,  then  in  New  Mexico  and  finally 
in  Northern  Mexico.  At  Casas  Grandes,  in  the  State 
of  Chihuahua,  they  built  a  great  city,  and  the  com- 
bination palace  and  citadel,  a  building  or  group  of 
buildings  of  brick,  eight  hundred  feet  long  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide,  was,  in  part,  six  or  seven 
stories  high  —  probably  the  first  sky-scraper  on  the 
continent.  The  movements  of  this  tribe  from  Casas 
Grandes  southward  are  easily  traced.  The  tribe  even- 
tually arrived  in  the  lake  region  of  the  Mexico  Valley, 
but,  as  all  fertile  tracts  were  already  occupied,  had  to 
content  itself  on  an  island  marsh  in  Lake  Texcoco.  It 
is  improbable  that  this  spot  would  have  been  selected  but 
for  the  fact  that  according  to  tradition  an  Aztec  wise 
man  had  said  that  the  people  would  not  settle  per- 
manently until  they  found  an  eagle  and  a  serpent  to- 


AN'CIENT  MEXICO  AND  THE  AZTECS       7 

gether.  Consequently,  when  in  their  wanderings  they 
found  an  eagle  devouring  a  serpent  they  decided  to  stay 
and  make  the  best  of  a  bad  location.  They  had  a  hard 
time  of  it,  as  marshes  had  to  be  reclaimed  to  give  them 
any  soil  to  cultivate.  Moreover,  the  neighboring  tribes 
did  not  want  any  more  people  in  the  valley,  and  were 
hostile  to  a  point  of  persecution.  The  new  people,  how- 
ever, were  hardy  and  tenacious,  and,  having  come  more 
recently  from  a  country  where  they  were  in  battle 
with  climatic  conditions,  they  were  stronger,  man  for 
man,  than  those  around  them.  They  stuck  to  it,  man- 
aged to  hold  what  they  had,  and  soon  had  a  settlement 
of  a  permanent  character.  Arriving  at  the  lake  in 
1325,  by  the  end  of  the  century  they  were  influential, 
and  their  capital,  Tenochtitlan,  was  of  almost  equal 
importance  with  Texcoco.  In  a  war  between  the  Tezcu- 
cans  and  Tepanecs  they  came  in,  at  a  critical  moment, 
as  allies  of  the  former,  and  helped  in  the  annihilation, 
in  1428,  of  Tepanec  power.  As  a  reward  they  were 
given  a  large  part  of  the  conquered  territory. 

Shortly  after  this  there  was  formed  an  alliance,  of- 
fensive and  defensive,  between  the  Aztecs,  Tezcucans. 
and  Tlacopans.  By  the  terms  of  the  Alliance  the  three 
contracting  parties  were  to  act  together  for  defensive 
purposes,  and  were  to  divide,  in  proportions  of  two- 
fifths,  two-fifths  and  one-fifth,  all  the  spoils  of  war.  No 
offensive  could  be  undertaken  without  the  consent  of 
at  least  two  of  the  allies.  Each  kingdom  continued 
a  separate  and  independent  rule,  and  was  at  liberty  to 
go  on  with  its  own  development,  and  the  three  were 
allied  only  for  military  purposes.  At  first  the  Tezcu- 
cans probably  dominated  the  alliance,  but  later  the 
Aztecs  took  the  lead.  It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact, 
considering  the  possibilities  of  trouble  over  division  of 
spoils,  that  the  alliance  thus  formed  continued  for  more 


8       MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

than  a  century,  and  was,  in  fact,  only  overcome  by  the 
Spanish  conquest.  The  alliance  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  country,  not 
only  because  of  its  strength  but  because,  in  the  use  of 
that  strengih,  it  created  many  enemies  and  paved  the 
way  for  foreign  interference. 

The  Aztecs,  early  in  their  history  in  the  valley,  were 
called  Mexicans,  from  their  patron  deity,  Mexitli. 
As  they  became  the  dominating  military  factor  and  the 
leading  political  power  the  subsequent  operations  of 
the  alliance  may  be  considered  as  of  Aztec  or  Mexican 
character,  and  will  be  treated  as  such. 

The  Mexican  rule,  or,  more  correctly,  the  Mexican 
domination,  was  now  extended  rapidly  in  all  directions. 
It  extended  east  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  up  and 
down  the  Gulf  for  perhaps  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
Toward  the  south  it  extended  two  hundred  miles  or 
more,  on  the  west  it  touched  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  on 
the  north  it  took  in  practically  the  whole  of  the  Mex- 
ican plateau.  Altogether,  considering  the  primitive  na- 
ture of  its  people  and  the  humble  origin  of.  the  domi- 
nating nation,  it  was  an  extensive  country.  The  great 
point  of  weakness  in  the  scheme  was,  however,  that 
power  was  not  centralized.  Each  conquered  tribe  was 
left  to  itself  and  subjected  only  to  paying  tribute.  Con- 
sequently, nothing  in  the  way  of  a  national  spirit  or 
power  was  developed.  In  fact,  the  tendency  under  this 
scheme  was  to  increase  tribal  jealousy  and  hatred,  and  to 
throw  the  subject  peoples  into  any  strong  combination 
which  might  give  promise  of  relief  from  immediate 
troubles.  There  was  nothing  in  this  so-called  empire  to 
suggest  the  rule  of  the  Eomans,  who,  on  vanquishing  a 
foe,  immediately  set  about  to  build  up,  not  a  tributary 
nation,  but  rather  a  distinctly  Roman  province.     The 


ANCIEJ^T  MEXICO  Al^D  THE  AZTECS       9 

situation  might  be  compared  to  that  of  the  world-wide 
empire  set  up  by  Alexander,  who  conquered,  exacted 
tribute  and  moved  on^  leaving  a  hundred  petty  king- 
doms in  his  wake. 


CHAPTER  II 
AZTEC  CIVILIZATION 

From  early  days  the  Toltecs  had  developed  a  rela- 
tively high  civilization.  They  made  much  progress  in 
agriculture,  knew  something  of  astronomy,  formulated 
a  calendar,  had  an  ideographic  system  of  writing,  and 
understood  something"  of  government.  It  would  be 
tedious  to  attempt  any  classification,  in  chronological 
order,  of  the  social  and  economic  development  made  by 
the  succeeding  nations.  It  is,  however,  important  to 
understand,  in  a  general  way,  the  social  conditions  ex- 
isting at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest.  In  de- 
scribing these  conditions  no  attempt  will  be  made  to 
differentiate  between  Toltec,  Tezcucan  or  Mexican  civ- 
ilizations, the  three  being  treated  as  common  to  all. 
The  Toltecs  and  Tezcucans  had  hereditary  monarchs, 
while  the  Aztec  monarchy  was  elective.  Due  to  this 
and  to  other  conditions  there  were  minor  differences  in 
laws  and  in  social  customs,  but  the  civilization  may, 
for  the  purpose  of  this  work,  be  considered  as  Mexican, 
especially  as  the  Mexicans  largely  dominated  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest. 

The  Spaniards,  on  coming  to  Mexico,  found  little 
to  learn  from  the  Mexicans  as  to  agriculture,  and,  in 
fact,  had  much  to  teach  them.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  agriculture  in  Spain  had  been  developed 
to  a  very  high  point  by  the  Moors,  and  that,  agricul- 
turally, they  were  at  that  time  easily  the  first  nation  in 
the  world.     It  seems  probable,  from  all  the  data  avail- 

10 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATION  11 

able,  that  Mexican  progress  in  agriculture  was  up  to 
the  average  of  most  European  countries.  They  not 
only  tilled  the  soil,  but  they  understood  and  developed 
irrigation.  In  hilly  country  the  ground  was  terraced, 
not  only  to  utilize  all  available  land  but  to  prevent 
such  land,  once  cultivated,  from  being  washed  away  in 
heavy  rains.  Corn  was  raised  everywhere,  and  there 
was  a  great  variety  of  vegetables.  Various  spices  were 
raised,  and,  as  a  substitute  for  sugar  there  were  the 
products  of  different  plants.  Cacao  (chocolate)  was 
grown  in  the  tierra  caliente  (hot  country)  and  was  in 
general  use.  Great  quantities  of  cotton  were  grown, 
and  cotton  cloths,  from  the  coarsest  to  the  finest,  were 
to  be  had  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  products  of 
other  plants  were  used  for  making  other  textiles,  and 
skins  and  furs  were  made  useful  by  tanning  and  treat- 
ment. A  good  grade  of  paper  similar  to  papyrus  was 
made  from  the  fiber  of  the  maguey  plant. 

Gold  and  silver  were  used  for  ornaments,  and  were 
wrought  and  carved  with  considerable  skill.  Pearls 
were  brought  from  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  were 
much  prized.  Emeralds,  turquoises,  opals  and  other 
precious  and  semi-precious  stones  were  also  used  for 
ornaments,  but  were  usually  in  the  rough,  due  to  the 
absence  of  hard  enough  materials  with  which  to  cut 
them.  For  purposes  of  ornamentation,  both  in  the 
way  of  personal  decoration  and  for  household  use, 
feather  work  designs  were  much  used,  and  in  this  dainty 
art  the  Mexicans  excelled.  The  gorgeously  colored 
feathers  of  tropical  birds  were  used  in  immense  quanti- 
ties for  this  purpose,  and  the  artisans  were  so  skillful 
that  the  most  intricate  and  delicate  designs  were  put 
into  tapestries  or  on  cloths  for  wearing  apparel. 

There  was  no  phonetic  alphabet,  but  an  ideographic 
system  of  writing  had  existed  from  very  early  days,  and 


12      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

had  been  developed  to  a  point  where,  with  the  use  of 
conventional  hieroglyphics,  much  could  be  expressed  in 
writing.  In  the  earlier  days  this  mode  of  expression 
appears  to  have  been  confined  to  stone  carving,  but  later 
a  vast  amount  of  picture  writing  was  done.  The  Mex- 
icans developed  this  to  its  highest  point  by  superimpos- 
ing a  color  scheme  on  the  original  method  of  written 
expression.  This  gave  them  greater  flexibility,  as  a 
figure  in  black  would  mean  one  thing,  while  the  same 
figure  in  blue  would  mean  something  else,  or  perhaps 
indicate  a  different  state  of  the  first  object.  Thus,  a 
disc  could  mean  the  sun,  a  white  disc  the  rising  sun, 
a  black  disc  the  setting  sun,  a  disc  half-painted  white 
midday,  and  so  on  through  an  endless  number  of  com- 
binations. A  footprint  meant  traveling,  a  tongue 
meant  speaking,  and  a  man  seated  indicated  an  earth- 
quake. Many  of  the  signs  were  seemingly  arbitrary, 
but  doubtless  due  to  some  association  of  ideas.  Thus, 
the  serpent  was  used  to  represent  time.  This,  while 
apparently  arbitrary,  was  doubtless  due  to  the  idea  of 
the  noiseless  speed  with  which  time  glides  by. 

The  zeal  of  the  Spaniards  for  religion  was  as  great 
as  their  avarice  for  gold,  and  their  first  acts  in  Mexico 
were  to  destroy  the  old  temples.  As  temple  walls  were 
covered  with  picture  writing,  all  documents  and  parch- 
ments were  considered  as  part  of  an  idolatrous  worship 
and  were  promptly  destroyed.  One  early  prelate  made 
a  huge  collection  of  picture  writings  solely  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  burning  them  all  at  once  in  a  huge  bonfire !  Pos- 
sibly in  this  very  fire  perished  the  key  to  the  whole 
langaiage.  At  all  events,  in  the  first  few  years  the 
Spanish  destroyed  every  piece  of  writing  found,  and 
only  after  their  first  fanatic  fury  was  exhausted  did  they 
realize  what  they  had  done.  Then  the  priests  began  to 
decipher  such  manuscripts  as  turned  up,  either  by  use  of 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATION  13 

such  other  documents  as  they  had  or  by  combining  them 
with  traditional  history.  Thanks,  then,  to  the  same 
church  which  destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  written 
records,  some  of  the  old  manuscripts  remain  and  are  use- 
ful in  forming  an  idea  of  the  history  and  life  of  the 
people.  That  there  was  a  clearly  defined  if  intricate 
means  of  expressing  thoughts  in  writing  is  certain,  and 
that  this  had  been  developed,  not  merely  to  represent 
single  ideas  but  to  record  past  events  with  careful  refer- 
ence to  their  chronological  order,  is  also  certain.  The 
people,  then,  had  long  passed  the  stage  of  living  the  day 
for  itself,  and  had  developed  in  thought  to  a  point  where 
they  wished  to  record  what  had  gone  before.  In  other 
words,  they  had  made  a  great  step  in  civilization,  not 
only  in  agriculture  and  in  the  development  of  comforts, 
but  also  in  thought.  How  rapidly  they  reached  this 
stage  is  uncertain,  but  from  their  knowledge  of  astron- 
omy it  seems  probable  that  the  process  took  many  cen- 
turies. 

The  movements  of  the  sun,  moon  and  planets  must 
have  been  observed  and  recorded  for  many  years,  for 
they  had  a  remarkable  knowledge  of  the  revolutions  of 
the  different  bodies.  Their  calendar  was  amazingly 
accurate,  although  worked  out  on  a  totally  different  basis 
than  ours.  The  year  was  divided  into  eighteen  months 
of  twenty  days  each,  and  each  year  five  extra  days  were 
added.  This  gave  them  a  year  of  365  days.  To  make 
up  the  actual  loss  in  time  extra  days  were  added  during 
each  cycle,  13  in  most  and  12  in  the  others,  on  a  basis 
of  making  a  total  addition,  in  20  cycles  of  1040  years, 
of  252  days.  This  gave  them,  in  1010  years,  a  total  of 
379,852  days,  as  against  actual  time  of  379,851  days, 
1  hour,  5  minutes  and  2  seconds.  The  calendar  would, 
in  other  words,  serve  23,000  years  before  an  error  of  a 
full  day  would  occur.     In  the  Julian  calendar,  in  use 


14     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MOKROW 

at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest,  there  was  an  error 
of  over  8  days  in  1040  years,  and  the  Gregorian  calen- 
dar, now  in  general  use,  is  a  day  in  error  every  3323 
years.  While  it  may  be  of  small  interest  to  know  that 
we  cannot  rim  nearly  as  long  without  losing  a  day,  it  is 
of  the  highest  interest  to  know  that  this  people  had,  at 
such  an  early  date,  made  such  close  and  accurate  obser- 
vations. The  Aztec  calendar  stone,  unearthed  in  the 
main  plaza  of  Mexico  City  in  1790,  gives  a  marvelously 
ingenious  combination  of  the  days,  months,  years  and 
cycles,  and,  erected  in  a  vertical  position,  it  acted  as  a 
sun  dial.  With  indications  of  the  equinoxes  and  sol- 
stices, it  gave  a  complete  and  accurate  statement  of  time, 
hour,  day,  month,  year  and  cycle, —  probably  the  most 
complete  affair  of  its  kind  ever  erected. 

The  Mexican  had  an  elective  monarchy.  During  the 
reign  of  a  monarch  the  nobility  named  four  electors,  who, 
on  the  death  of  the  monarch,  named  his  successor,  and 
the  latter  was  usually  of  the  same  family.  Unless  a 
son  of  the  deceased  monarch  was  of  mature  age,  a 
brother  or  nephew  was  chosen.  The  monarch  was  su- 
preme in  all  matters,  with  one  important  exception.  In 
each  kingdom  there  was  a  supreme  judge,  named  for  life 
and  independent  of  the  king.  Thus  provision  was  made 
for  dispensation  of  justice  without  any  influence  or 
pressure  from  the  court.  In  each  province  there  was  a 
lower  court,  and  below  this  were  minor  magistrates  in 
every  village  or  district.  On  the  presentation  of  cases 
before  the  two  upper  courts,  and  perhaps  before  magis- 
trates, a  record  of  the  facts  or  claims  was  made  in  pic- 
ture wi-iting,  this  work  being  done  by  an  officer  of  the 
court  corresponding  with  our  court  stenogTapher.  The 
care  with  which  these  records  were  made  is  attested  by 
the  fact  that  old  records  were  accepted  by  the  Spanish 
for  several  years  after  the  conquest. 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATION  15 

The  laws,  as  with  all  primitive  peoples,  were  severe. 
Murder  was  punished  with  death,  and  adulterers  were 
stoned  to  death.  Thieving  was  punishable  with  death 
or  slavery,  according  to  the  gravity  of  the  offense. 
Changing  boundary  lines  or  falsifying  weights  were 
capital  offenses,  as  was  breach  of  trust  by  a  guardian. 
Intemperance  was  punished  with  death  for  young  men, 
and  with  loss  of  property  for  old  men. 

Public  debtors  were  sold  as  slaves.  Prisoners  taken 
in  war  could  be  sold  into  slavery,  and  the  very  poor 
often  sold  themselves  or  their  children.  Slaves  were 
well  treated,  and  had  certain  rights.  They  could  work 
for  others  when  not  needed  by  their  owners,  and  thus 
could  acquire  property.  They  were  even  allowed  to 
own  slaves.     Children  of  slaves  were  free. 

There  was  no  currency,  and  trading  was  mostly  by 
barter,  supplemented  by  the  use  of  quills  filled  with 
gold  dust.  As  a  medium  of  exchange  bags  of  cacao 
beans,  containing  a  fixed  weight  of  beans,  were  used. 
Small  pieces  of  tin,  cut  T  shape,  were  also  used  in  trad- 
ing, the  value,  as  with  the  cacao  beans,  being  intrinsic. 

While  some  of  these  features  were  of  a  primitive  na- 
ture, others,  especially  those  of  the  provisions  for  courts 
of  justice,  showed  a  high  order  of  development.  In 
general,  the  political  organization  was  well  laid  out  to 
fit  the  needs  of  the  people,  and  there  appears  to  have 
been  a  disposition  to  do  justice  to  all  classes  of  people. 

The  religious  beliefs  of  the  Mexicans  present  curious 
contradictions.  They  believed  in  a  "  god  omnipotent," 
"  by  whom  we  live,"  "  giver  of  all  gifts,"  "  of  perfec- 
tion," "  under  whose  wings  we  find  repose  and  sure 
defense  " —  in  other  words,  in  a  supreme  deity,  creator 
and  ruler.  This  conception  was  so  great  as  to  stagger 
the  average  primitive  mind.  Clearly,  there  must  be  one 
Supreme   Being,    omnipotent,   without   beginning   and 


16      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKEOW 

without  end.  But  how  could  He,  alone,  rule  the  des- 
tinies of  a  world  full  of  many  peoples  ?  The  creation, 
in  the  dim  past,  was  not  so  staggering,  but  the  multi- 
plex duties  of  a  god  in  guiding  the  universe  were  mani- 
festly too  great  to  be  carried  out  without  assistance. 
To  meet  this,  the  Mexicans  developed  the  idea  of  a  num- 
ber of  inferior  gods  who  were  charged  with  specific 
duties.  Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war,  had  to  do 
with  all  war  matters.  Quetzalcoatl,  god  of  the  air,  was 
a  benevolent  deity  who,  in  the  dim  past,  had  quarreled 
with  the  other  gods  and  had  been  driven  out,  leaving  the 
country  in  a  boat  and  going  East,  promising  to  return. 
There  were  gods  of  the  air,  of  the  household,  of  the 
harvest,  and  so  forth,  with  a  total  of  thirteen  major 
gods  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Being.  Again,  there  was 
a  confused  doubt  if  these  gods  could  properly  take  care 
of  a  thousand  and  one  things  without  outside  help,  so 
two  hundred  minor  gods  were  conceived,  and  to  them 
were  given  all  the  details  in  the  management  of  every 
day  life.  While,  ethically,  the  addition  of  many  minor 
gods  detracts  from  the  perfection  of  the  scheme,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  of  greatest  interest  to  know  that  the  Mexi- 
cans had,  in  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  the  greatest 
of  religious  conceptions.  Their  belief  in  immortality 
was  a  natural  consequence  of  a  belief  in  a  supreme  being. 
They  believed  in  various  grades  of  future  life.  Soldiers 
who  died  in  battle  were  most  highly  honored,  as  their 
spirits  were  supposed  to  immediately  go  to  the  Sun,  and 
after  a  space  of  time  spent  in  songs  and  dances  in  the 
Sun's  travels  in  space,  the  souls  animated  song  birds 
living  in  paradise.  Evil  spirits  went  into  a  place  of 
eternal  darkness.  There  was  not,  in  their  conception 
of  paradise,  anything  of  the  material  sensualism  so 
characteristic  with  primitive  peoples,  and  their  idea  of 
a  place  of  punishment  is  unaccompanied  by  any  suggee- 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATIOIT  17 

tion  of  torture.  The  whole  tendency  of  their  religious 
belief,  especially  in  its  early  stages,  was  along  poetic 
lines.  The  gods  were  propitiated  with  offerings  of  fruit 
and  flowers.  The  sun,  bringing  warmth  and  light,  was 
considered  as  the  direct  agent  of  an  omnipotent  power. 
It  was  the  generating  impulse  of  the  world,  and  was 
therefore  frequently  represented  as  double  to  indicate 
two  sexes.  The  rite  of  baptism  was  practiced,  the 
lips  and  bosom  being  sprinkled  with  water.  At  death 
the  body  was  covered  with  scraps  of  paper  to  protect  the 
spirit  on  the  dark  road  —  a  practice  followed,  in  one 
form  or  another,  by  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians  and 
other  early  peoples,  and  having  its  counterpart  in  a  part 
of  the  burial  service  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Remains  were  cremated  and  the  ashes  kept  in  vases  in 
each  household.  Confession  to  priests  was  obligatory, 
and  penances  were  imposed.  Confession,  however,  was 
only  made  once  in  a  lifetime,  doubtless  on  the  theory 
that  atonement  and  subsequent  sinning  would  be  incom- 
patible. Consequently,  confession  was  usually  made 
late  in  life.  Then  a  lifetime  of  sins  could  be  confessed 
and  atoned  for.  The  priests,  on  confession,  gave  abso- 
lution. This  absolution  was  of  material  as  well  as  of 
spiritual  value,  as  it  carried  with  it  immunity  from 
arrest  for  various  offenses.  After  the  Conquest  the  na- 
tives, when  arrested,  frequently  presented  evidence  of 
confession  in  expectation  of  immunity.  As  the  act  of 
confession  was  the  most  important  one  in  life,  the  simple 
folk  doubtless  had  a  confused  notion  of  the  very  futility 
of  existence  when  it  represented  nothing  in  the  new 
order  of  things. 

The  priesthood  was  numerous  and  powerful.  Five 
thousand  priests,  it  is  said,  were  attached  to  the  main 
temple,  and  doubtless  a  goodly  percentage  of  the  entire 
population   were    in   the    priestly   orders.     Education, 


18      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

chiefly  relative  to  church  ritual,  picture  writing,  astrol- 
ogy and  astronom}^,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  priests. 
There  was  no  attempt  at  any  popular  education,  but 
any  one  desiring  to  enter  the  priesthood  became  a  noviti- 
ate and  was  put  through  a  long  course  of  instruction 
before  being  given  orders.  The  priestly  orders  in- 
cluded nuns,  who,  in  addition  to  taking  part  in  some 
of  the  ceremonies,  did  feather  work  and  embroidery  for 
coverings  for  the  church  altars. 

As  has  been  pointed  out,  the  earlier  tendencies  of 
religion  were  along  very  gentle  lines,  and  the  sacrifice 
of  human  life,  developed  later  to  such  horrible  propor- 
tions, seems  inconsistent  with  the  poetry  of  the  scheme. 
It  is  certain  that  human  sacrifice  as  a  religious  rite  was 
unknown  until  about  1325.  The  practice  was  brought 
from  the  North,  perhaps  by  the  Chichimecs  but  more 
likely  by  the  Aztecs,  as  its  appearance  coincides  with 
their  arrival  at  Lake  Texcoco.  Prescott  and  many  other 
writers  assume  that  this  dreadful  practice  could  only 
have  been  introduced  by  a  ferocious  people,  and  they 
make  frequent  reference,  based  on  this  hideous  rite,  to 
the  ferocity  of  the  Aztecs.  It  must  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  the  ofi'ering  of  a  sacrifice  of  blood  to  the  gods, 
and  frequently  of  human  blood,  has  been  common  in  all 
early  civilization.  Its  adoption  by  the  Aztecs  may  have 
been  purely  accidental,  due  to  some  dire  necessity  of 
flood  or  famine,  when  it  was  felt  that  nothing  short  of 
some  extraordinary  sacrifice  would  appease  the  wrath  of 
the  gods.  It  became  a  species  of  fanaticism,  and  many 
who  wished  to  attain  especial  glory  or  atone  for  great 
sins  offered  themselves  to  the  priests  for  the  purpose. 
It  was  religion  gone  wrong.  As  the  custom  was  devel- 
oped on  an  ever-ascending  scale,  war  was  waged  on  inno- 
cent neighboring  tribes  solely  to  obtain  victims  for  sacri- 
fice.    From  all  the  evidence  gathered  by  the  Spanish 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATION  19 

conquerors  it  seems  clear  that  a  large  part  of  the  scheme 
of  expansion  developed  by  the  Mexico  Valley  alliance 
was  simply  to  secure  victims  for  the  great  festivals. 

Such  wholesale  slaughter  does  not  seem  in  keeping 
with  the  idea  that  the  people  were  of  a  peaceful  dispo- 
sition. The  Aztec  religion,  however,  was  of  a  mys- 
terious sort,  appealing,  in  many  wa3^s,  to  the  imagi- 
nation. The  great  temple  at  Ixtacalco  was  on  the  top 
of  a  hill  which  commands  a  vast  stretch  of  country  lying- 
two  thousand  feet  below,  and  many  other  temples  were 
placed  amid  surroundings  which  suggest  the  weird  pic- 
tures of  Dore.  To  such  points  the  great  throngs-  came 
to  worship,  and  here,  in  the  vast  spaces  of  nature,  they 
listened  to  incantations  and  appeals  to  their  gods.  In 
the  capital  the  temples  were  built  on  high  mounds  or 
pyramids,  with  paved  roadways  winding  to  their  tops, 
where,  in  front  of  altars,  sacred  fires  always  burned. 
One  can  imagine  the  multitude  watching  an  endless  pro- 
cession of  priests,  in  their  weird  robes,  chanting  their 
way  up  to  the  altar,  where,  in  view  of  all  below,  the 
incantations  ended  in  an  offering  to  the  gods.  What 
more  natural,  therefore,  that  the  idea  of  human  sacrifice, 
once  introduced,  should  take  a  strong  and  immediate 
hold  ?  Horrible  and  bloodthirsty  as  it  was,  we  have 
only  to  think  of  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition,  of  mas- 
sacres and  persecutions  done  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to 
understand  how  religion  could  far  depart  from  peaceful 
ideals. 

The  Mexican  Indian  was  doubtless  affected  by  cli- 
matic conditions.  The  tribes  encountered  by  early  set- 
tlers in  other  parts  of  North  America  were  savage  or 
semi-savage,  with  no  fixed  abodes,  living  by  the  chase 
and  rarely  tilling  the  ground.  The  Mexican  Indians, 
however,  had,  at  a  very  early  date,  tilled  the  soil,  and 
were  accustomed  to  living  in  permanent  homes,  fre- 


20      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

quentlj  witli  great  numbers  grouped  together  in  large 
cities.  Their  religion,  their  life  and  their  government 
all  tended  toward  permanency,  and  they  had  reached  a 
stage  of  civilization  far  beyond  anything  to  be  found 
further  North.  The  movements  of  the  various  tribes 
and  the  rise  and  decline  of  one  race  after  another,  were 
not  unlike  the  history  of  old  Asiatic  peoples.  Whether 
or  not  they  originally  came  from  a  different  stock  is 
uncertain,  but  in  any  event  their  civilization  was  doubt- 
less greatly  aided  by  more  moderate  climate  than  that 
enjoyed  by  their  neighbors  farther  JSTorth.  As  crops 
could  be  raised  the  year  around,  hunting,  as  a  means  of 
existence,  becanie  of  secondary  importance.  The  fact 
that  each  race  had  a  war  god,  combined  with  the  practice 
of  human  sacrifice,  has  led  many  historians  to  take  for 
granted  that  sanguinary  characteristics  predominated. 
This  does  not  appear  to  be  warranted  by  the  history  of 
the  people.  The  very  fact  that  five  or  six  tribes  lived 
in  close  proximity  to  each  other  around  the  shores  of 
Lake  Texcoco  is  reasonably  good  proof  that  the  general 
tendency  was  peaceful.  The  Toltecs,  Chichimecs  and 
Aztecs  in  turn  obtained  a  preponderance  in  the  Mexico 
Valley  through  the  growth  of  their  respective  tribes, 
through  the  establishment  of  cities,  through  intermar- 
riage with  adjoining  tribes  and  through  alliances. 
From  time  to  time  there  were  tribal  wars,  but  these 
appear  to  have  been  incidental  and  due  largely  to  the 
crowding  together  of  many  rival  tribes  in  a  compara- 
tively small  area  of  fertile  land,  rather  than  to  any 
natural  tendency  toward  warfare. 

It  is  important  to  keep  in  mind  the  general  character 
of  the  civilization  to  understand  the  amazing  events 
which  transpired  mth  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards. 
Scattered  throughout  Mexico  were  scores  of  tribes  — 
philologists  have  traced  thirty  languages  and  one  hun- 


AZTEC  CIVILIZATION  21 

dred  and  fifty  dialects  —  and  in  the  Mexico  Valley, 
whose  three  dominating  tribes  were  in  an  alliance,  there 
were  at  least  a  dozen  distinct  tribes.  The  country  was 
fairly  populous,  and  the  Valley  country  doubtless  had 
one  and  a  half  million  inhabitants.  The  dominating 
tribes,  through  their  conquests  and  especially  through 
their  toll  for  hmnan  sacrifices,  had  embittered  '!:heir 
neighbors.  The  early  Spaniards  referred  always  to  the 
empire  of  the  Montezumas.  They  perhaps  did  not  fully 
understand  the  political  conditions  of  the  country,  and 
were,  moreover,  inclined  to  exaggerate  in  general  and 
in  detail.  There  was  not,  in  a  political  sense,  an  em- 
pire, but  rather  a  large  group  of  tribes  of  which  three, 
through  industry  and  agriculture,  had  become  more 
powerful  than  the  others,  and  which  were,  through  alli- 
ance, able  to  impose  tribute  on  their  neighbors.  The 
dominating  tribes  had  armies,  as  had  the  others,  but  the 
so-called  armies  depended  largely  on  great  numbers 
rather  than  on  any  military  organization  or  efficiency. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  MONTEZUMAS 

PopuLAE  imagination  pictures  the  Montezumas  as  a 
long  line  of  powerful  emperors.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  the  Aztec  did  not  achieve  a  dominating  influ- 
ence in  the  Valley  until  the  early  part  of  the  Fifteenth 
Century.  On  the  death  of  Itzcoatl,  the  king  who  had, 
as  a  final  touch  to  their  domination  carried  through  the 
formation  of  an  alliance  with  other  powerful  nations,  the 
wise  men  and  nobles  elected,  as  his  successor,  Motecuh- 
zoma  Ylhuicamina.  The  name,  Motecuhzoma,  corrupted 
by  the  Spaniards  to  Montezuma,  means,  in  the  Aztec 
tongue,  ''  The  man  of  fury  and  respectability,"  while 
Ylhuicamina  means,  ''  archer  of  heaven."  This  young 
man  came  from  a  noble  family,  had  distinguished  him- 
self in  military  operations  and  had  headed  the  mission 
charged  with  negotiations  for  an  alliance  with  the  Tex- 
coco  kingdom.  On  coming  to  the  throne  he  deferred  his 
coronation  to  conduct  a  campaign  against  the  Chalco 
tribe,  neighbors  who  had  for  years  been  hostile  to  the 
Aztecs.  The  campaign  was  a  brilliant  success,  and 
Motecuhzoma  returned  to  the  capital  with  several  thou- 
sand prisoners  who  were  duly  sacrificed,  in  the  midst  of 
great  festivals,  to  celebrate  the  ceremony  of  coronation. 
Immediately  following  the  coronation  the  Chalcos  re- 
belled but  they  were  again  defeated  and  five  hundred 
of  them,  taken  prisoners,  were  sacrificed  by  being  thrown 
into  a  sacred  fire,  from  which  they  were  drawn  out  before 
life  was  extinct,  that  their  hearts  might  be  cut  out  and 

22 


THE  MONTEZUMAS  23 

offered  to  the  gods.  The  same  tribe  gave  trouble  at 
intervals  during  several  years,  but  were  finally  subju- 
gated, their  capital,  Amecamecan,  being  destroyed.  In 
1449  heavy  rains  caused  a  great  flood,  which  so  inun- 
dated the  Aztecs'  capital  that  for  weeks  the  only  means 
of  getting  around  was  in  boats.  To  guard  against  a 
recurrence  of  this  disaster  Motecuhzoma  built  a  great 
dike,  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  wide  and  over  six  miles 
long,  the  work  being  pushed  so  actively  that  it  was 
finished  before  the  following  rainy  season.  Heavy 
snows  and  frosts  in  1450-1454  destroyed  the  crops  and 
caused  a  serious  famine  which  was  only  partially  re- 
lieved by  rations  given  to  the  people  from  the  royal 
storehouses.  To  appease  the  gods  more  victims  were 
needed  for  sacrifice,  and  campaigns  were  waged  in  the 
far  south.  In  1455  there  were  good  crops,  and  this  was 
attributed  to  the  great  number  of  prisoners  sacrificed. 
Consequently  to  obtain  still  more  captives  the  scope  of 
military  operations  was  greatly  enlarged  and  campaigns 
conducted  in  remote  regions  South,  East  and  West.  By 
1460  the  Aztec  power  covered  the  greater  part  of  what 
now  constitutes  Mexico.  In  the  meanwhile,  Motecuh- 
zoma did  much  to  embellish  the  city,  building  temples 
and  public  edifices  and  constructing  an  aqueduct  to 
bring  a  supply  of  pure  water  from  Chapultepec.  Mote- 
cuhzoma Ylhuicamina  died  in  1469.  His  brother,  Yla- 
caclel,  declining  the  throne,  the  nobles  elected  as  ruler 
Axaycatl,  son  of  Motecuhzoma's  daughter. .  The  new 
ruler,  following  the  practice  of  his  grandfather,  post- 
poned his  coronation  until  he  had  taken  the  city  of 
Tecuantepec  and  conquered  the  southern  g-ulf  coast  to 
obtain  a  large  supply  of  victims  for  the  coronation  cere- 
monies. The  reign  of  Tizoc  Chalchuihlatonac,  1481— 
1486,  was  characterized  by  nothing  of  consequence. 
Ahuizotl,  who  followed,  extended  and  rebuilt  the  temple 


24     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war,  and  celebrated  its 
dedication  with  the  most  gigantic  orgy  of  human  sacri- 
fice the  world  had  probably  ever  seen.  For  two  years, 
while  the  construction  work  on  the  temple  was  being 
pushed,  all  prisoners,  instead  of  being  immediately  sac- 
rificed, were  saved,  and  a  great  throng  of  them,  the 
spoils  of  campaigns  in  distant  regions,  was  ready  for  the 
dedication  ceremony.  The  chiefs  of  all  subject  tribes 
were  all  asked  to  the  festival,  at  which  they  were 
royally  treated.  Before  dawn,  on  the  day  of  dedica- 
tion, a  vast  multitude,  including  thousands  of  guests 
from  every  part  of  the  dominions,  was  gathered  in 
front  of  the  temple.  With  the  first  streaks  of  light  on 
the  horizon  Ahuizotl  gave  the  signal  to  begin  the  slaugh- 
ter, he  himself  cutting  out  the  heart  of  the  first  victim 
and  offering  it,  with  much  ceremony,  to  the  high  priests, 
who,  in  turn,  placed  it  before  the  idol  of  the  war  god. 
There  followed,  then,  a  great  procession  of  victims, 
marching  and  being  sacrificed  in  fours,  the  horrible 
slaughter  continuing  until  darkness  set  in.  By  night 
the  royalty  and  priesthood  were  soaked  in  blood,  but  the 
number  of  prisoners  was  so  great  that  the  ceremony  had 
to  be  prolonged  for  four  days  before  the  last  of  the  line 
was  reached. 

Aliuizotl  died  in  1502,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mote- 
cuhzoma  Xocoyotzin  (Motecuhzoma  II),  a  grandson  of 
Motecuhzoma  I.  The  new  monarch  was  thirty-four 
years  of  age,  had  distinguished  himself  as  a  soldier  and 
had  later  taken  priestly  orders. 

There  is  nothing  in  American  history  to  compare,  in 
point  of  picturesque  features,  with  this  period,  in  which 
the  power  of  Mexico  reached  the  zenith.  Mexico  City, 
located  in  a  great  valley  surrounded  by  high  mountains, 
is  always  beautiful,  and  the  snow-capped  volcanoes  add 
the  charm  of  variety  to  the  scene.     In  the  early  days, 


THE  MONTEZUMAS  25 

however,  there  was  an  added  charm  in  that  the  city  was 
partly  an  island,  partly  a  stretch  of  shore  on  Lake  Tex- 
coco.  This  lake  was  probably  ten  or  twelve  miles 
across,  but  has  now  shrunk  to  a  small  shallow  body  of 
water  with  an  area  of  only  five  or  six  square  miles. 
Much  of  the  land  was  "  made  "  by  digging  canals,  and 
in  a  large  part  of  the  city  communication  was  by  these 
waterways,  which  swarmed  with  all  sorts  and  sizes  of 
canoes  and  boats.  Flowers,  fruits  and  vegetables  were 
raised  in  great  quantities  in  the  small  squares  of  land 
reclaimed  by  a  canal  system  of  great  extent,  and  this 
section  became  known  as  the  "  floating  gardens "  of 
Mexico,  which  the  early  Spaniards  called  the  Venice  of 
America.  The  city,  which  is  said  to  have  had  some 
300,000  inhabitants,  was  well  laid  out,  with  wide  streets 
and  a  great  market  place.  In  the  market  place  the 
various  classes  of  business  were  grouped,  one  section 
being  given  to  grains,  another  to  vegetables,  another  to 
pottery,  another  to  gold  and  silver  ornaments  and  pre- 
cious stones,  and  so  on.  On  regular  market  days  sixty 
thousand  people  came  to  market,  while  on  other  days 
there  was  an  attendance  of  twenty-five  thousand.  The 
section  of  the  market  devoted  to  featherwork  pictures, 
in  the  making  of  which  the  Mexicans  had  been  expert 
for  centuries,  always  attracted  many  of  the  well-to-do 
classes.  The  shops  displayed  a  great  variety  of  cloths, 
the  fineness  of  which  indicated  the  social  grade  of  the 
wearer.  Society  was  divided  into  various  castes  or 
grades,  from  the  most  humble  to  the  nobility,  and  rigid 
rules  were  laid  down  to  govern  the  clothes  and  conduct 
of  each  class.  There  were,  in  the  city,  three  hundred 
temples  or  smaller  places  of  worship,  presided  over  by 
a  great  number  of  priests.  The  priestly  class  was 
usually  robed  in  white  when  in  the  temple,  but  had  dif- 
ferent costumes  for  various  occasions  —  combinations  of 


26      MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^B  TO-MOKROW 

black  tigures  on  white,  purple  on  white,  or  white  on 
black,  to  suit  each  particular  ceremony.  The  picture 
writings  covering  the  temple  walls  gave  an  added  touch 
of  the  picturesque  to  the  solemn  incantations  and  mys- 
tical dances  which  formed  a  gTcat  part  of  the  ceremonial 
worship. 

The  wealth  of  the  tributary  regions,  from  the  temper- 
ate climate  of  the  plateau  to  the  tropical  coast  country, 
poured  into  the  city.  Taxes  and  tributes  were  paid  in 
the  products  of  each  region,  and  grain,  fruit,  feathers, 
gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  fine  woods,  furs  and  a  thou- 
sand other  articles  came  in  an  endless  chain.  The  main- 
tenance of  the  royal  household,  with  its  nobility  and 
hundreds  of  retainers,  called  for  vast  quantities  of  the 
products  of  the  country.  One  picturesque  item  in  the 
list  of  royal  household  needs  was  24,000  bundles  of 
colored  feathers,  which  doubtless  was  largely  contrib- 
uted by  the  tropical  sections  of  the  country.  An  army 
of  ten  thousand  had  to  be  provisioned,  and  from  the  state 
income  provision  had  to  be  made  for  the  thousands  of 
priests.  The  nobility,  dressed  in  rich  clothes  and  with 
ankles  and  arms  covered  with  gold  and  silver  bands, 
lived  in  a  sort  of  barbaric  splendor. 

Swift  messengers,  working  in  relays,  brought  fresh 
fish  from  the  coast  and  game  from  the  north  for  the 
royal  table.  Couriers  kept  the  palace  informed  of 
everything  happening  in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the 
country.  Justice  was  administered  by  tribal  chiefs  and 
sub-chiefs,  and  from  all  accounts  the  amount  of  crime 
was  small.  One  of  the  most  curious  facts  regarding  the 
race  is  that,  up  to  the  time  of  the  conquest,  the  people 
knew  nothing  of  the  use  of  iron,  and  all  the  stone  carving, 
woodcarving  and  other  such  work  was  done  with  tools  or 
implements  made  of  stone  or  copper.  That  the  people 
had  considerable  mechanical   ability  is  shown  by  the 


THE  MOISTTEZUMAS  27 

construction  of  the  great  pyramid  at  Teotihuacan,  as 
high  as  a  modern  sky-scraper,  and  also  by  the  fact  that 
huge  blocks  of  stone  used  in  temple  construction,  some 
of  them  weighing  many  tons,  were  often  moved  great 
distances  from  quarries. 

The  whole  picture  is  vivid :  a  curious  mixture  of  bar- 
baric splendor  and  civilization,  of  primitive  peoples  and 
urban  life.  Their  civilization  may  be  compared  to  that 
of  the  early  Egyptians,  but  with  the  notable  difference 
that  a  large  class  of  nobility,  following  early  tribal  cus- 
toms, had  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  their  ruler.  Here, 
on  the  Mexican  plateau,  separated  by  thousands  of  miles 
of  sea  from  any  other  civilization,  a  people  living  in  a 
stone  and  copper  age  emerged  from  purely  tribal  con- 
ditions, worked  out  a  form  of  alphabet  or  expression 
through  pictures,  developed  a  government,  carried  on 
much  internal  commerce,  built  cities,  and  established  a 
sort  of  an  empire ;  and  did  all  this,  or  the  greater  part, 
two  thousand  years  after  a  similar  development  had 
come  and  gone  in  Egypt. 

What  curious  thoughts  of  evolution  arise  in  one's 
mind!  The  advance  in  thought  and  civilization  in- 
creases its  pace  as  each  stage  is  passed.  Who  knows 
but  that  the  development  of  the  Mexican  race  began  in 
the  same  place  and  at  the  same  remote  time  as  that  of 
the  Hindoos  or  Egyptians  ?  Had  it  been  retarded  by 
a  fight  with  nature  in  a  hostile  climate  ?  Centuries, 
perhaps  ages,  had  passed  in  making  the  first  steps  from 
barbarism  and  savagery  to  that  of  the  first  stage  of  civi- 
lization; then  four  or  five  centuries  of  rapid  progress, 
and  a  definite  social  and  political  scheme  was  developed ; 
and  finally,  conquest  by  people  of  another  civilization, 
a  conquest  so  swift  and  a  subjugation  so  complete  that 
every  sign  and  vestige  of  the  civilization  already  devel- 
oped was  lost.     It  was  not  a  case  of  a  civilization  influ- 


28      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

enced  or  accelerated  by  another  race.  The  new  civiliza- 
tion was  not  grafted  on  the  old.  The  old  was  simply 
annihilated,  so  entirely  blotted  out  that  it  might  have 
never  existed  so  far  as  its  influence  on  the  people  was 
concerned.  And  the  pity  is  that  this  happened  just  as 
the  old  civilization  gave  promise  of  rapid  development, 
Prescott  says,  "  In  this  state  of  things  it  was  benefi- 
cently ordered  by  Providence  that  the  land  should  be 
delivered  over  to  another  race,  who  would  rescue  it  from 
the  brutish  superstitions  that  daily  extended  wider  and 
wider  with  the  growth  of  empire.  It  is  true,  the  con- 
querors brought  along  with  them  the  Inquisition,  but 
they  also  brought  with  them  Christianity,  whose  benign 
radiance  would  still  survive  when  the  fierce  flames  of 
fanaticism  should  be  extinguished ;  dispelling  those  dark 
forms  of  horror  which  had  so  long  brooded  over  the  fair 
regions  of  Anahuac." 

Prescott,  at  the  time  he  wrote  (about  1855),  had  a 
world  wide  reputation,  but,  aside  from  being  a  chrono- 
logical and  highly  interesting  record  of  events,  his  work 
is  of  small  value  in  determining  the  influence  of  the 
conquest  on  the  Mexican  people.  His  work  is  more  or 
less  a  mechanical  history,  wonderfully  told,  but  it  shows 
his  lack  of  knowledge  of  conditions.  Doubtless  influ- 
enced by  the  Spanish  historians  whose  works  he  studied 
with  such  care,  he  fell  into  the  error  of  assuming  that 
the  mere  substitution  of  Christianity  for  a  religion  which 
sanctioned  human  sacrifice  was  sufficient  recompense  for 
the  destruction  of  a  nation  and  a  civilization  already 
well  advanced.  It  may  be  argued  that  but  for  the  spirit 
of  adventure  of  the  Spanish,  the  new  world  might  not 
have  been  discovered  for  many  years,  and  that  world- 
progress  would  have  been  arrested  by  that  much.  The 
casual  critic  will  ask  what  North  America  would  have 
been  if  it  had  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 


THE  MONTEZUMAS  29 

But  that  is  beside  the  point.  One  might  equally  ask, 
what  would  the  country  be  if  all  of  North  America  had 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards?  Two-thirds 
of  the  North  American  continent  was  inhabited  by  sav- 
ages, and  their  disappearance,  under  the  progress  of  an 
Anglo-Saxon  civilization,  can  in  no  way  be  compared 
to  the  course  of  events  in  Mexico.  In  the  latter  case 
there  were  four  or  five  million  people,  half  of  them 
under  a  common  rule,  who  had  already  made  a  start  in 
civilization.  That  that  civilization  was  an  inferior  one 
in  many  respects  is  true,  but,  in  a  large  measure,  it  an- 
swered their  wants.  It  was  at  least  better  than  nothing, 
and  gave  promise  of  amounting  to  something  more.  If, 
in  the  change,  the  people  had  had  a  chance  to  adopt  the 
new  civilization,  become  part  of  it  and  advance  with  it, 
there  would  be  no  cause  for  regi'et.  But,  for  the  people 
at  large,  the  forms  of  the  church  were  given  in  place  of 
civilization.  They  became  a  subject  race,  a  race  of 
slaves  who  had  no  place  in  the  general  scheme  of  things. 
In  place  of  advancing,  they  were  reduced  to  slavery  and, 
in  that,  retarded.  Mexico,  during  three  hundred  years, 
was  a  country  in  which  the  Mexican  had  no  voice,  a 
colony  so  thoroughly  Spanish  that,  but  for  occasional 
protests  from  Dominican  priests  as  to  the  treatment  of 
the  natives,  no  one  would  have  known  that  the  Mexican 
existed.  It  was  not  that  all  the  colonial  rulers  were 
cruel,  only  that  the  Mexican  was  considered  an  inferior 
being  to  be  used  as  a  beast  of  burden  for  the  benefit  of 
his  superiors. 

Due  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  Spanish  view- 
point. The  Spaniards  of  that  day  were  adventurers  and 
zealots.  They  came  of  a  people  having  a  different  civ- 
ilization and  a  different  religion,  which,  alone,  were  suf- 
ficient to  place  them  beyond  the  range  of  consideration. 
The  very  fact  that  the  people  fell  an  easy  victim  to 


30      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AXD  TO-MOEEOW 

Spanish  arms  was  taken  as  a  proof  of  inferiority.  So 
far  as  the  people  were  concerned,  the  Spanish  considered 
that  they  had  done  their  fnll  duty  in  bringing  them  into 
the  Church,  even  if  this  was  done  at  the  point  of  the 
sword.  The  glorious  conversion  having  been  accom- 
plished, there  was  no  further  obligation.  By  right  of 
conquest,  strengthened  by  rights  given  by  the  Church, 
the  cenquerors  o\ATied  the  country  and  everything  in  it, 
and  the  natives  were  clearly  there  to  be  useful  to  the 
Spanish  crown  and  its  representatives.  This  reasoning 
prevailed  for  centuries,  and.  among  the  people  of  pure 
Spanish  blood  in  Mexico,  prevails  to-day.  The  Mexi- 
can Indian  is  regarded  by  such  people  as  a  hopeless 
proposition,  incapable  of  any  development  and  useless 
except  as  a  mechanical  unit.  Centuries  of  life  as  a  slave 
stunted  his  mental  and  moral  growth.  The  Spanish 
conquest,  wonderful  as  it  was  in  opening  up  a  new  em- 
pire of  fabulous  wealth,  did  nothing  for  him.  Its  eifect 
was  to  set  him  back  a  century  or  more  and  then  keep  him 
in  that  established  place.  It  is  worth  emphasizing,  in  this 
connection,  that,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  Mexican 
civilization  was,  relatively  speaking,  a  thousand  years 
behind  that  of  Spain  or  Eome.  It  must  not,  however, 
be  taken  for  granted  that  the  Mexican  mind  was  corre- 
spondingly backward.  The  ^Mexicans,  due  to  climatic 
conditions  in  the  north,  had  remained  in  a  savage  state 
for  many  centuries,  while  people  in  more  favored  cli- 
mates, or,  influenced  by  surroundings,  had  advanced. 
The  Mexican  mind  was  just  forming,  and  was  showing 
potential  power,  when  its  development  was  brought  to  a 
sudden  halt  by  the  overwhelming  power  of  a  new  civiliz- 
ation. 

The  astounding  rapidity  with  which  the  blow  fell 
forms  one  of  the  most  remarkable  records  in  the  history 
of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  SPANISH  CONQUEST 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  Spain  was 
just  entering  on  the  brilliant  career  which  was  soon  to 
place  her  in  a  dominant  position  in  Europe.  The 
union  of  Castile  and  Aragon  by  the  marriage  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  in  1469  had  soon  been  followed  by  a 
campaign  against  the  Moors,  whose  last  stronghold, 
Granada,  fell  in  1492.  The  Turkish  occupation  of  the 
Levant  had  forced  the  seeking  of  new  trade  routes  and 
markets,  and  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  had  taken  the 
lead  in  maritime  voyages  of  discovery.  The  discovery 
of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus,  opening  up 
visions  of  the  riches  of  the  East,  had  given  the  greatest 
possible  stimulus  to  further  adventures  and  voyages, 
even  if  it  did  not,  at  the  moment,  give  much  return  in 
wealth  and  treasure.  In  the  West  Indies  the  Spanish 
had  found  a  weak  and  effeminate  lot  of  savages  and 
little  treasure,  but  they  had  established  some  colonies 
and  were  slowly  preparing  to  develop  the  agricultural 
resources  by  using  native  labor. 

The  age  was  one  of  adventure  and  chivalry.  The 
Spanish  campaigns  in  Europe  had  developed  hundreds 
of  ambitious  and  restless  spirits  who  flocked  to  the 
standard  of  any  one  heading  an  expedition.  The  dis- 
covery of  a  new  world,  or,  as  was  supposed,  of  a  new 
route  to  an  old  world,  carried  with  it  so  much  glamour 
that  the  adventurous,  of  high  or  low  degTee,  lost  no  time 
in  putting  his  fortunes  to  test.     In  an  incredibly  short 

31 


32      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

time  there  were  thousands  of  Spaniards  scattered 
throughout  the  West  India  Islands.  Each  was  given  a 
tract  of  hind,  frequently  a  large  estate,  and,  under  a 
system  called  repartimientos,  was  allotted  a  certain  num- 
ber of  natives  who  became,  for  all  effects,  his  slaves. 
The  cultivation  of  the  soil,  although  done  by  slaves, 
proved,  however,  tedious.  There  was  no  adventure,  no 
excitement,  no  novelty  in  it.  Consequently  every  one 
was  constantly  trying  to  find  something  new.  By  1518 
the  Atlantic  coast,  from  Labrador  south,  had  been  exam- 
ined practically  through  the  length  of  both  JS'^orth  and 
South  America.  Cuba  had  been  discovered  and  a  settle- 
ment established  there  under  Don  Diego  Velasquez, 
governor  of  the  island.  The  Cubans  had  offered  but 
weak  resistance.  One  native  chief,  Hatuey,  having  fled 
from  Hispaniola  to  escape  the  oppression  of  the  Con- 
querors, put  up  a  strong  fight,  for  which,  when  cap- 
tured, he  was  burned  alive.  At  the  stake  on  his  being 
urged  to  embrace  Christianity  so  that  his  soul  might  go 
to  heaven,  he  inquired  if  the  souls  of  white  men  were 
there,  and,  on  receiving  an  afiirmative  answer,  said  he 
had  no  desire  to  again  go  to  any  place  where  he  would 
find  Christians.  With  this  single  exception,  the  Span- 
iards had  no  difficulty  with  the  natives,  and  there  was 
little  bloodshed  accompanying  the  conquest,  or  occu- 
pation, of  Cuba,  this  being  due,  in  large  part,  to  the 
efforts  of  Las  Casas,  a  Spanish  priest  who  accompanied 
the  expedition.  Almost  as  soon  as  a  permanent  settle- 
ment had  been  made  in  Cuba,  various  expeditions 
were  fitted  out  to  cruise  in  the  gulf  and  learn  some- 
thing of  other  islands.  This  expedition  found  little  of 
interest,  and  the  discovery  which  had  the  greatest  im- 
portance was  made  accidentally.  Hernandez  de  Cor- 
dova, an  hidalgo  of  Cuba,  sailed  with  three  ships  for  the 
Bahamas  in  quest  of  slaves,  but,  meeting  with  heavy 


THE  SPANISH  CONQUEST  33 

gales,  was  driven  far  off  bis  course,  and  landed  on  an 
unknown  coast.  Here  he  found  houses  built  of  stone, 
and  people  wearing  well-woven  cotton  fabrics.  All  evi- 
dences pointed  to  a  higher  degree  of  civilization  than 
any  he  had  seen  on  the  islands,  and  he  determined  to 
explore  the  country.  The  natives,  however,  were  ex- 
tremely hostile,  and  Cordova  was  unable  to  penetrate  the 
interior.  He  followed  the  coast  for  several  days,  mak- 
ing several  landings  and  having  numerous  skirmishes 
with  the  natives.  After  losing  nearly  half  of  his  hun- 
dred men,  he  determined  to  return  to  Cuba  and  fit  out 
a  larger  expedition.  Shortly  after  arriving  in  Cuba  he 
died  from  wounds  he  had  received  in  one  of  the  fights. 
The  story  of  his  discovery  spread  all  through  the  settle- 
ment and  caused  great  excitement,  especially  as  he  had 
brought  back  with  him  many  curiously  wrought  gold 
ornaments.  Cordova  had  landed  on  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  Yucatan,  and  had  examined  the  coast  as  far  west 
as  Campeche.  This  was  the  first  landing  of  the  Span- 
iards on  the  mainland  of  a  country  which  was  soon  to 
become  one  of  the  nation's  gTcatest  possessions. 

Velasquez,  the  governor  of  Cuba,  fitted  out  an  expedi- 
tion which  sailed  on  May  1,  1518,  to  follow  up  the  dis- 
covery made  by  Cordova.  This  cruise,  under  command 
of  Juan  de  Grijalva,  made  various  landings,  and  at  one 
point  a  friendly  interview  was  had  with  a  cacique  who 
ruled  over  the  district.  As  there  was  no  one  to  inter- 
pret, such  communication  as  there  was  had  to  be  made 
by  signs,  but  the  Spaniards  were  able  to  understand  that 
the  cacique  represented  some  one  more  powerful  who 
lived  in  the  west.  Presents  were  exchanged,  the  Span- 
iards receiving,  in  return  for  some  trinkets,  beautiful 
gold  ornaments  and  jewels.  The  expedition  examined 
the  coast  as  far  west  as  the  Isla  de  Sacrificios  (Island  of 
Sacrifices),  near  what  is  now  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz. 


34     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

Grijalva  was  the  first  white  man  to  come  in  touch  with 
the  Aztecs.  The  rich  treasure  he  sent  back  to  Cuba 
determined  Velasquez  to  fit  out  a  large  expedition  to 
follow  up  the  work  already  done  by  founding  a  perma- 
nent colony.  Hernando  Cortes  was  selected  to  com- 
mand the  expedition. 

The  reader  who  wishes  for  excitement  and  romance 
should  consult  Prescott's  "  Conquest  of  Mexico."  It  is 
only  possible  here  to  briefly  sketch  the  main  story  —  a 
story  full  of  religious  zeal,  military  daring,  personal 
courage  and  hardship  rarely  equaled.  Cortes  made  a 
landing  in  Yucatan,  battled  successfully  with  the  natives 
and  then  moved  on  to  establish,  on  April  21,  1519,  a 
permanent  settlement  at  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Vera  Cruz.  Tales  of  a  rich  country  beyond  set  his 
mind  on  penetrating  to  the  interior,  either  by  sheer  force 
or  by  1  egotiations  with  the  country's  ruler.  Monte- 
zuma hid  received,  by  couriers,  reports  of  the  Spanish 
victory  in  Yucatan,  and  was  filled  with  dread  at  the 
tales  of  men  who  fought  with  thunder  and  lightning. 
He  believed  Cortes  to  be  the  god  Quetzalcoatl,  returning 
to  his  people,  and  had  grave  forebodings  as  to  what  the 
return  meant.  He  determined  to  try  to  keep  the  new- 
comers on  the  coast,  and  opened  friendly  negotiations 
by  sending  representatives,  bearing  rich  gifts  of  gold,  to 
Cortes,  who  was  welcomed  to  the  country  but  advised  to 
make  no  effort  to  visit  the  interior.  The  golden  gifts 
only  made  Cortes  more  determined  than  ever  to  go 
through  with  his  enterprise,  and  he  doubtless  formed,  at 
this  time,  a  definite  idea  of  conquest.  He  did  not  want, 
moreover,  to  have  the  Governor  of  Cuba  snatch  the 
wealth  and  glory  of  the  achievement,  so,  to  give  regular- 
ity to  his  proceedings,  he  had  a  duly  constituted  govern- 
ment installed  in  the  name  of  the  emperor,  and  this 
government   then   gave   him   supreme   powers.     Then, 


THE  SPANISH  CONQUEST  35 

having  sent  one  of  his  smaller  ships  to  Spain  to  claim 
his  rights  of  discovery,  he  took  the  major  portion  of  his 
small  band  and  started  inland.  The  Cempoallans,  a 
tribe  placed  under  tribute  by  Montezuma,  threw  their 
lot  in  with  the  Spaniards,  who  prepared  to  march  on 
the  Aztec  capital.  On  hearing  murmurs  of  discontent 
among  his  men,  Cortes  scuttled  his  ships,  making  any 
retreat  impossible  —  an  act  of  daring,  in  the  face  of 
unknown  dangers  in  a  strange  and  hostile  land,  never 
equaled  in  history.  The  Spaniards  then  attacked  the 
Tlascallans,  an  independent  tribe  on  the  edge  of  the 
Mexican  plateau,  and,  although  outnumbered  twenty  to 
one,  their  advantage  of  firearms  and  cavalry  gave  them 
victory,  and  the  Tlascallans  became  their  allies.  The 
Chollullans,  allies  of  Montezuma,  were  then  defeated. 
Montezuma,  hearing  of  these  victories,  made  no  further 
effort  to  stop  the  advance  on  his  capital,  which;  was  en- 
tered by  the  Spaniards  on  November  8,  1519.  i  Cortes 
was  received  by  Montezuma  as  a  friendly  ambassador 
from  a  foreign  potentate,  and  was  given  a  vast  amount 
of  treasure. 

The  Aztec  capital  was  on  an  island,  approached  only 
by  causeways,  and  the  position  of  the  Spanish  force  was 
one  of  great  danger.  Cortes  determined  on  a  bold  move, 
and  seized  the  person  of  Montezuma,  who,  while  treated 
with  deference  due  his  rank,  was  held  captive  in  the 
Spanish  quarters.  Cortes  then  heard  that  a  Spanish 
force,  sent  by  the  governor  of  Cuba  to  overthrow  him, 
was  marching  up  from  the  coast.  He  accordingly  left 
the  capital  in  charge  of  one  of  his  generals,  Alvarado, 
and  took  two-thirds  of  his  men  with  him  to  intercept  the 
Spanish  force,  which  he  surprised  and  defeated.  His 
army,  reinforced  by  recruits  from  the  defeated  forces, 
returned  to  the  capital  only  to  find  that  Alvarado  and 
his  men  were  being  besieged,  following  an  uprising  due 


36     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AIN^D  TO-MOKKOW 

to  Alvarado's  excesses.  The  forces  were  united,  but, 
seeing  the  hopelessness  of  the  situation,  after  several 
days  of  fighting,  Cortes  decided  on  a  sally.  Under 
cover  of  night  he  fought  his  way  to  the  mainland,  and, 
although  he  lost  half  his  army  and  all  of  his  vast  treas- 
ure, he  managed  to  reach  his  base  at  Tlascala.  After 
several  months  spent  in  preparation,  which  included  the 
building  of  a  fieet  to  operate  against  the  capital,  a  fresh 
start  was  made.  The  Spaniards  had  the  support  of 
several  thousand  Tlascallan  warriors,  and  laid  siege  to 
Mexico  City  on  May  20,  1521.  Montezuma  had  died 
in  captivity,  but  Cuahtemoctzin,  his  successor,  had  pre- 
pared for  a  bitter  resistance.  After  nearly  three 
months  of  fighting,  the  Spaniards,  aided  by  their  fleet, 
gained  a  foothold  in  the  city,  and  the  Tlascallans  let 
loose  their  fury  on  the  Aztecs,  a  wholesale  slaughter 
following  for  two  days.  Cuahtemoctzin  was  captured 
while  attempting  to  escape  to  the  mainland,  and  the 
city,  the  greatest  stronghold  of  the  Indian  race  in 
America,  capitulated  August  13,  1521. 

Less  than  thirty  months  had  elapsed  since  Cortes, 
with  his  adventurous  band,  had  set  foot  on  Mexican 
soil.  His  fantastic  dream  of  conquest  was  now  realized, 
and  the  foundation  laid  for  a  vast  Spanish  dominion 
which  was  soon  to  extend  from  Oreg'on  to  the  Straits 
of  Magellan. 

"  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  conquest  in  a  moral 
view,"  says  Prescott,  "  regarded  as  a  military  achieve- 
ment it  must  fill  us  with  astonishment.  That  a  hand- 
ful of  adventurers,  indifferently  armed  and  equipped, 
should  have  landed  on  the  shores  of  a  powerful  empire 
inhabited  by  a  fierce  and  warlike  race,  and,  in  defiance 
of  the  reiterated  prohibitions  of  its  sovereign,  should 
have  forced  their  way  into  the  interior ;  —  that  they 
should  have  done  this  without  knowledge  of  the  language 


THE  SPANISH  CONQUEST  37 

or  of  the  land,  without  chart  or  compass  to  guide  them, 
without  any  idea  of  the  diihculties  they  were  to  encoun- 
ter, totally  uncertain  whether  the  next  step  might  bring 
them  on  a  hostile  nation  or  on  a  desert,  feeling  their 
way  along  in  the  dark,  as  it  were ;  —  though  nearly 
overwhelmed  in  their  first  encounter  with  the  inhabit- 
ants, that  they  should  have  still  pressed  on  to  the  capital 
of  the  empire,  and,  having  reached  it,  thrown  themselves 
unhesitatingly  into  the  midst  of  their  enemies ;  —  that, 
so  far  from  being  daunted  by  the  extraordinary  spec- 
tacle there  exhibited  of  power  and  civilization,  they 
should  have  been  the  more  confirmed  in  their  original 
design ;  —  that  they  should  have  seized  the  monarch, 
have  executed  his  ministers  before  the  eyes  of  his  sub- 
jects, and,  when  driven  forth  with  ruin  from  the  gates, 
have  gathered  their  scattered  wreck  together,  and,  after 
a  system  of  operations  pursued  with  consummate  policy 
and  daring,  have  succeeded  in  overturning  the  capital 
and  establishing  their  sway  over  the  country ;  —  that  all 
this  should  have  been  effected  by  a  mere  handful  of  in- 
digent adventurers,  is  a  fact  little  short  of  the  miracu- 
lous,—  too  startling  for  the  probabilities  demanded  by 
fiction,  and  without  a  parallel  in  the  pages  of  history." 
Prescott  somewhat  overstates  the  matter.  Mexico 
was  not  a  powerful  empire,  and  the  Aztec  rule,  while 
covering  a  great  area  and  dominating  many  peoples, 
was  strong  only  in  the  sense  that  through  superior  armies 
it  was  able  to  impose  tribute  on  conquered  tribes.  The 
extortions  of  the  dominating  people  and  the  bloody  sacri- 
fice of  captives  had  spread  so  much  discord  that  it  only 
required  some  strong  unit  to  bring  together  the  various 
elements  hostile  to  the  government.  Prescott,  contra- 
dicting himself,  states  the  case  better  when  he  says  that 
"  had  the  Aztec  monarchy  been  united,  it  might  have 
bid  defiance  to  the  invaders."     Nevertheless,  while  con- 


38     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

ditions  were,  in  many  respects,  favorable  for  the  Span- 
iards, Cortes'  achievement  will  always  stand  out  as  one 
of  the  most  daring  exploits  in  history.  It  was  all  the 
more  remarkable  in  that  he  could  not  call  in  aid  from 
his  o\\Ti  people,  as  the  irregularity  of  his  proceedings 
made  him  dependent  on  his  own  resources.  This  very 
fact  doubtless  formed  the  bases  of  his  success.  Failure 
meant  disgrace,  ruin  and  probable  death.  He  could, 
therefore,  afford  to  risk  death  where  there  was  a  chance 
of  success,  and  he  could  take  chances  which  another, 
clothed  with  proper  authority,  would  scarce  have  taken. 


CHAPTER  V 
SPANISH  MEXICO 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enter  into  much  detail  of  the 
Spanish  rule  in  Mexico,  but  it  is  worth  while  to  review 
briefly  the  history  of  the  country  after  the  Conquest. 
This  period  is  especially  interesting  because  of  the  fact 
that  the  Spanish  civilization  introduced  far  ante-dated 
any  Anglo-Saxon  colonization.  Immediately  following 
the  conquest  Cortes  began  the  rebuilding  of  Mexico  City 
on  plans  based  on  Spanish  models.  Busy  as  were  the 
Spaniards  with  conquering  and  settling  the  country, 
they  gave  time  to  the  artistic  embellishment  of  their  new 
capital,  and  the  work  done  was  so  thoroughly  harmonious 
and  comprehensive  that  it  has  been  possible,  during  four 
centuries,  to  follow  the  original  plan  of  development,  and 
to  produce,  as  a  result,  a  city  which,  in  sjTmnetry  and 
beauty,  has  few  rivals  on  the  American  continent. 
There  was  none  of  the  haphazard  settlement  which  char- 
acterized the  growth  of  the  early  centers  of  population 
in  English  speaking  America,  or  which,  in  spite  of  three 
hundred  years  of  experience,  still  applies  to  many  of 
our  municipalities.  Under  the  Spanish  scheme  the 
ownership  of  a  tract  of  land  does  not  carry  with  it  the 
right  to  open  streets  or  to  erect  buildings  according  to 
the  whims  of  the  owner.  Everything  done  must  be  in 
accordance  with  the  general  plan  laid  down  by  the  mu- 
nicipality. To  be  sure,  the  average  American  city  has 
regulations  as  to  street  openings,  but  these,  as  a  rule,  are 
so  loosely  drawn  or  so  poorly  enforced  as  to  be  negligible 

39 


40      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

in  the  general  results  obtained.  Thus,  while  a  city  may 
have  a  comprehensive  scheme  within  its  own  limits,  sub- 
urbs, which  are  under  separate  municipal  control  but 
which  may  soon  become  a  part  of  the  city,  are  not  bound 
by  any  general  scheme,  but  may  lay  out  such  streets  as 
suit  their  immediate  needs.  The  result  is  that,  with  the 
exception  of  Washington,  none  of  the  larger  cities  have 
been  built  up  on  any  general  plan,  and,  in  spite  of 
changes  made  at  great  expense,  nearly  all  suffer  from 
great  irregailarities.  Under  Spanish  practice,  the  large 
center,  usually  the  seat  of  state  of  provincial  govern- 
ment, exercises  strong  influence  over  all  adjoining  terri- 
tory, and  can  lay  out  a  street  system,  with  parks  and 
public  squares,  with  the  security  that  such  a  plan  will 
be  followed  for  an  indefinite  time,  and  that,  with  the 
growth  of  the  city,  it  will  be,  from  time  to  time,  farther 
extended. 

This  general  idea  was  followed  in  Mexico.  A  gTeat 
public  square,  on  which  were  erected  the  principal  gov- 
ernment buildings  and  a  huge  cathedral,  formed  the 
center  of  the  city,  which  was  laid  out  with  regular  streets 
crossing  each  other  at  right  angles.  From  the  square 
three  wide  streets  —  somewhat  narrow  according  to 
modern  standards  but  very  wide  for  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury—  run  parallel  in  a  westerly  direction  for  half  a 
mile  or  more.  Then  comes  the  alameda,  a  rectangular 
public  park  occupying  a  space  equal  to  about  six  city 
squares.  The  streets  then  extend  on  beyond  this  park, 
and  at  intervals  there  are  circular  or  rectangular  park- 
ways. The  general  arrangement,  made  four  centuries 
ago,  made  better  provision  for  breathing  spaces  than 
prevails  in  the  average  American  city  built  during  the 
last  seventy-five  years. 

The  one  error  made  was  in  the  selection  of  the  site, 
the  new  city  being  laid  out  on  the  site  of  the  old.     Cortes 


SPANISH  MEXICO  41 

doubtless  decided  on  this  location  because  of  its  great 
advantages  for  defense,  protected,  as  it  was,  by  water 
on  all  sides,  and  being  reached  only  by  causeways.  The 
ground,  however,  was  marshy,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  land  had  been  reclaimed.  The  site,  therefore,  was 
a  poor  one  so  far  as  furnishing  a  good  foundation  for 
buildings  was  concerned,  and  many  of  the  early  Spanish 
edifices  are  out  of  plumb,  two  or  three  of  them  so  badly 
that  it  seems  scarcely  possible  they  can  stand  at  all. 
One  of  the  leading  churches  in  the  Calle  Francisco 
Madero  looks  as  if  it  would  topple  over  at  any  moment, 
and  ^ts  belfry  suggests  the  tower  of  Pisa. 

Another  great  disadvantage  of  the  site,  especially 
when  viewed  in  the  light  of  modern  hygiene,  was  the 
difficulty  of  draining  it.  The^city  proper,  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  was  several  feet  below  the  level  of  some 
of  the  surrounding  lakes,  including  Lake  Texcoco,  and 
inundations  were  only  partially  prevented  by  the  great 
dike  built  by  the  first  Montezuma.  It  was,  conse- 
quently, a  serious  problem  to  keep  the  city  dry  in  the 
rainy  season,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  the  accumu- 
lation of  filth  and  surface  drainage  was  a  constant 
breeder  of  disease.  Por  three  centuries  the  Spaniards 
struggled  with  this  question,  building  more  dikes  and 
extending  great  ditches  to  remote  points  in  an  effort  to 
keep  the  city  dry  and  properly  drained.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century  a  tunnel  was  driven,  at  great  cost, 
through  the  range  of  hills  which  surround  the  valley,  and 
a  great  canal,  in  places  seventy-five  feet  deep,  was  dug 
from  the  city  to  this  tunnel  to  take  care  of  drainage  and 
to  carry  off  the  surplus  waters  in  the  rainy  season.  Even 
with  this  undertaking  completed,  at  times  great  pumps 
have  to  be  operated  to  keep  the  lowest  section  of  the  city 
dry,  so  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the  constant  difficulty  the 
early  Spaniards  had  to  face.     Alberto  J.  Pani,  in  his  in- 


42      MEXICO  TO-DxVY  AND  TO-MORROW 

terestiiig  work  on  "  Hygiene  in  Mexico,"  says  that  be- 
yond question  the  selection  of  a  poor  site  for  the  city  has 
been  responsible,  to  a  considerable  degree,  for  the  poor 
physical  development  and  lack  of  powers  of  resistance  of 
the  poorer  inhabitants  of  the  city.  Lack  of  proper  sani- 
tation has  furnished  the  grounchvork  for  epidemics  and 
constant  disease,  and  ill-health,  extending  through  gen- 
erations, has  had  a  decided  effect  on  the  physical  con- 
stitution of  the  people. 

The  choice  of  this  island  site  had,  in  an  unlooked  for 
way,  an  important  compensation  for  its  disadvantages. 
This  portion  of  Mexico,  or,  more  properly,  the  portion 
somewhat  west  of  the  city,  is  in  a  zone  in  wliich  the 
greatest  faults  have  occurred  in  the  earth's  surface,  and 
is  subject  to  severe  earthquakes.  The  city,  located  on 
what  was  an  island  marsh,  is  really  built  on  a  big  and 
probably  only  partially  dried  puddle,  and  the  character 
of  the  formation  is  undoubtedly  a  protection  against  the 
violence  of  the  shocks.  Once  in  a  while  the  resident  of 
Mexico  has  the  unpleasant  experience  of  waking  up  to 
find  the  furniture  moving  about  the  room,  and,  on  rush- 
ing to  the  window,  to  see  the  street  lamps  swaying  back 
and  forth  as  if  swung  by  a  powerful  gale.  On  reaching 
the  street  the  dim  light  of  the  dawn  shows  the  asphalt 
heaving  in  long  waves,  while,  with  each  wave,  houses 
seem  to  swing  out  over  the  sidewalks.  The  sensation 
when  Mother  Earth  herself  gets  in  motion  is  uncanny, 
and  such  earthquakes  as  are  experienced  in  Mexico  City 
would  be  far  more  terrifying  and  destructive  but  for 
the  measure  of  protection  afforded  by  the  character  of 
the  soil.  Even  the  great  cathedral,  the  largest  edifice 
of  its  kind  in  Latin  America,  begim  in  1578  and  com- 
pleted a  century  later,  has  suffered  only  cracks  from  the 
numerous  shocks  it  has  had  in  three  centuries  of  exist- 
ence. 


SPANISH  MEXICO  43 

Once  established  in  their  new  capital,  the  Spaniards 
took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  dominate  all  the  sur- 
rounding country.  From  remote  tribes  came  offers  of 
submission,  and  Cortes  followed  these  up  by  sending 
military  expeditions  to  take  possession  of  the  territory 
in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  crown.  Expeditions  were 
sent  to  explore  the  country  westward  as  far  as  the  Pa- 
cific and  as  far  north  as  the  upper  end  of  the  Gulf  of 
California.  People  from  Spain,  attracted  by  the  ro- 
mantic stories  of  the  conquest,  soon  began  to  pour  into 
the  new  country,  and  settlements  were  made  at  various 
points;  along  the  Pacific  and  Gulf  coasts  and  as  far 
south  as  Honduras  and  Guatemala.  By  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  the  whole  of  the  country  had  been 
explored,  and  a  start  had  been  made  on  explorations 
which  were  soon  to  place  the  whole  west  coast  country, 
as  far  north  as  Oregon,  under  the  royal  banner.  Hand- 
some public  buildings,  in  use  to  this  day,  were  erected 
in  the  capital.  Many  people  of  distinguished  families 
in  Spain  came  over,  obtained  large  grants  of  land  and 
built  themselves  palatial  residences  in  the  capital,  which, 
half  a  century  before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at 
Plymouth,  could  boast  of  much  of  the  brilliance  of  Euro- 
pean capital  life.  In  1536  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  Count 
of  Tendilla,  was  named  Viceroy  for  the  new  country, 
and  his  work  as  a  colonizer  and  organizer  formed  the 
basis  of  a  permanent  government.  A  public  mint  was 
established  in  1536,  and  the  new  Viceroy  in  the  year 
following  founded  the  College  of  Santa  Cruz  de  Tlate- 
lolco,  the  first  institution  of  learning  in  the  new  world. 
The  University  of  Mexico  was  founded  in  1573,  ante- 
dating Harvard  by  sixty-three  years.  Not  only  was 
the  whole  of  the  country  explored  before  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  but  practically  all  of  it  was  thor- 
oughly organized  under  Spanish  rule.     The  Indians, 


44      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

awed  into  submissiou  bj  the  conquest,  offered  little  or  no 
resistance  to  the  settlement  of  their  country.  There 
were,  from  time  to  time,  local  insurrections,  generally 
resulting  from  the  harsh  treatment  of  labor  at  the  mines, 
but  these  were  always  quickly  suppressed,  and  none  of 
them  ever  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  national  upris- 
ing. In  this  and  in  the  two  following  centuries  various 
decrees  and  royal  acts  prohibited  the  enslaving  of  In- 
dians, and  some  viceroys  attempted  to  enforce  the  regTi- 
lations,  but  local  practice  was  too  well  founded  and  local 
avarice  too  great  to  permit  compliance.  The  general 
practice  was  that  a  grant  of  land  carried  with  it  all  the 
people  already  settled  in  it,  and  these  people,  while  not 
technically  slaves,  could  be  obliged  to  work  the  estate 
for  the  owner's  benefit. 

The  rapid  spread  of  Spanish  colonization  and  rule 
was  doubtless  in  large  part  due  to  the  desire  to  find  gold 
and  silver.  What  extremes  of  cruelty  were  used  to  com- 
pel the  natives  to  produce  or  find  these  precious  metals 
may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, every  Mexican  mining  camp  of  any  conse- 
quence to-day  appears  in  a  list  of  mines  published  in 
1810.  To  be  sure,  some  new  properties  have  been 
opened  in  old  camps,  and  some  properties  formerly  of 
little  value,  have,  under  modern  methods,  become  large 
producers.  Speaking  generally,  however,  the  Spaniards 
made  such  a  thorough  search  of  the  country  that  they 
located  the  great  silver  and  gold  camps  within  a  few 
years  after  the  conquest,  and  followed  this  up  by  locat- 
ing nine-tenths  or  more  of  the  properties  known  to-day. 
In  1557  Don  Bartolomc  de  Medina,  in  Pachuca,  in- 
vented a  method  for  the  extraction  of  silver  from  ore  by 
the  use  of  mercury,  and  this  gave  a  great  stimulus  to  the 
mining  industry.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
Pachuca  camp  is,  to-day,  one  of  the  greatest  silver  pro- 


SPANISH  MEXICO  45 

diicing  districts  in  the  world,  and  its  annual  production, 
due  to  the  use  of  the  cyanide  process  and  the  utilization 
of  hydro-electric  power  from  iS  ecaxa,  is  equal  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  decade  during  Spanish  days. 

The  importance  of  the  mining  industry  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that  during  the  Spanish  colonial 
period  the  recorded  production  of  silver  was  over  two 
billions  of  pesos,  the  peso  having  a  value,  at  that  time, 
of  about  one  dollar  in  American  money.  There  were 
produced,  in  the  same  time,  sixty-eight  million  pesos  of 
gold.  As  these  figures  are  from  records  turned  in  for 
purposes  of  taxation,  it  is  probable  that  the  actual  pro- 
duction w^as  considerably  in  excess  of  the  amount  re- 
ported. The  figures  must  be  considered  relatively. 
Taking  into  consideration  the  total  stock  of  silver  in 
the  world  and  its  relative  purchasing  power,  the  peso, 
according  to  various  estimates,  had  a  relative  value  of 
from  six  to  ten  dollars.  As  judged  by  to-day's  stand- 
ards, therefore,  the  average  annual  production  of  pre- 
cious metals  in  Mexico  during  the  colonial  period  was 
worth  an  amount  equivalent  to  fifty  or  seventy-five  mil- 
lion dollars,  and,  due  to  the  richness  of  the  ores  first 
treated,  doubtless  represented  a  greater  amount  during 
the  first  century.  Statistics  are  misleading,  and,  by  way 
of  comparison,  a  better  idea  of  the  value  of  the  stream 
of  silver  and  gold  which  now  began  to  pour  into  Spain 
can  be  gained  by  the  simple  statement  that  the  amount  of 
precious  metals  produced  by  Mexico  annually  was  double 
the  total  amount  of  royal  treasure  possessed  by  any 
monarch  in  Europe.  Spanish  America,  from  Oregon  to 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  produced,  during  three  centuries 
of  colonial  rule,  four  and  a  half  billion  pesos  in  silver, 
Mexico  contributing  nearly  forty  per  cent,  of  the  total. 
In  the  light  of  the  tremendous  production  under  modern 
scientific  mining   methods    the   annual    production    in 


46      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AXD  TO-MORKOW 

Mexico  in  Spanish  days  might  seem  small,  but,  con- 
sidering that  the  methods  of  the  day  were  very  crude, 
the  output  was  quite  remarkable.  Only  rich  ore  could 
be  treated,  and  the  whole  process  was  one  of  hand  labor. 
As  late  as  twenty-five  years  ago,  with  the  steam  engine 
to  sui)ply  power,  the  cost  of  silver  production  at  the 
Pachuca  camp  was  over  twelve  dollars  per  ton  of  ore, 
and  ore  with  a  value  of  less  than  fifteen  dollars  per  ton 
was  of  too  low  a  grade  to  treat.  There  is  little  data  on 
costs  in  the  Spanish  days,  but  it  is  certain  that  only 
ores  from  the  richest  veins  could  be  utilized.  To-day 
the  production  cost  at  the  Pachuca  camp  is  three  dollars 
per  ton,  a  fourth  of  what  it  was  only  a  few  years  ago. 
Obviously  any  comparison  with  former  production  is 
out  of  the  question. 

The  treatment  of  the  Indians  in  mining  operations 
brought  forth  protests,  from  time  to  time,  from  the 
early  Dominican  and  Franciscan  monks.  With  four- 
teen and  fifteen  hours  constituting  a  day's  work,  with  no 
provisions  for  health,  and  with  much  cruelty  in  the 
handling  of  the  work,  the  labor  conditions  were  as  bad 
as  they  could  be.  Las  Casas,  the  priest-historian,  writ- 
ing of  Cortes'  first  fortune,  accumulated  in  Cuba,  says, 
pathetically,  "  God,  who  alone  knows  at  what  cost  of 
Indian  lives  it  was  obtained,  will  take  account  of  it." 
It  was  not  that  Cortes  was  by  nature  cruel,  for  his 
recommendations  to  the  government  contain  many  hu- 
mane ideas.  The  whole  system  was  based  on  forced 
labor,  and  was  desigiied  to  drive  the  labor  to  the  utmost 
point  of  endurance.  One  of  Cortes'  early  acts  after  the 
conquest  was  to  ask  the  crown  to  send  out  a  number  of 
priests  so  that  the  conversion  of  the  natives  might  be 
actively  pushed.  A  large  number  of  monks  were  sent 
out,  and  they,  scattering  over  the  country,  everywhere 
made  bitter  denunciation  of  the  inhuman  treatment  of 


SPANISH  MEXICO  47 

tlie  natives.  The  protests  of  these  pioneer  missionaries, 
coupled  with  the  heroic  efforts  of  Las  Casas,  mitigated, 
in  some  degree,  the  sufferings  of  the  Indians,  and  re- 
sulted, at  different  periods,  in  the  adoption  of  humane 
regulations  covering  the  conditions  of  labor.  It  was, 
however,  much  easier  to  get  proper  reg-ulations  adopted 
than  to  have  them  enforced  in  the  colony.  The  land 
owners  and  mine  owners  had  large  selfish  interests  at 
stake,  and  many  of  them  were  very  powerful.  They 
were  far  removed  from  contact  with  the  home  govern- 
ment, and  naturally  exercised  much  influence  over  the 
colonial  officials.  Many  of  the  viceroys  sent  out  were 
intent  on  enriching  themselves,  and,  instead  of  attempt- 
ing to  stop  abuses,  were  only  too  glad  to  take  advantage 
of  them  for  their  own  purposes.  Moreover,  most  of  the 
great  estates  or  mines  were  not  managed  by  their  owners 
directly  but  intrusted  to  administradores,  or  managers, 
who  were  usually  men  of  a  lower  degree  of  education 
a"nd  who  had  little  thought  of  anything  but  *'  getting 
results,"  regardless  of  the  means  employed.  The  owners 
themselves,  living  in  comfort  in  the  capital,  were  fre- 
quently entirely  out  of  touch  with  the  detail  of  the  work 
on  their  properties,  and,  in  general,  indifferent  as  to 
the  native  labor  so  long  as  their  income  came  in  regu- 
larly. They  were  not  necessarily  heartless,  but  they 
simply  regarded  the  Indian  as  an  inferior  being  who  was 
useful  as  a  mechanical  unit.  The  Indians,  stunned  by 
the  sweeping  success  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  conquest, 
submitted  to  slavery  with  little  or  no  resistance,  and  re- 
mained under  the  yoke  for  three  hundred  years. 

The  propaganda  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was 
highly  successful,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the 
whole  country  accepted  Christianity.  The  early  mis- 
sionaries were  not  only  zealous.  They  were  self-sacri- 
ficing, and  many  of  them  men  of  fine  feelings.     Their 


48      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

constant  effort  to  help  improve  the  condition  of  the  na- 
tives doubtless  greatly  aided  their  propaganda.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  missionaries 
translated  various  religious  works  into  the  leading  na- 
tive dialects,  and  opened  schools  at  many  missions  to 
help  in  spreading  Christian  doctrines. 

The  history  of  Mexico  during  the  Spanish  rule  is 
strikingly  and  exclusively  the  history  of  the  Spaniards 
in  Mexico.  With  the  exception  of  some  efforts  by  the 
missionaries  to  help  the  natives,  or  at  least  to  reduce  the 
severity  of  their  conditions  of  labor,  little  was  done  for 
the  Indians.  The  natives  of  the  country  had  no  partici- 
pation in  its  life  except  as  units  of  labor.  It  was,  per- 
haps, natural  that  the  Indian  should  have  little  part  in 
the  general  scheme  of  life,  but,  allowing  for  all  racial 
differences,  it  is  really  amazing  that  a  few  hundred 
Spaniards,  having  conquered  a  country  with  five  mil- 
lions of  people  in  it,  should,  with  a  few  thousands  who 
came  over  later,  so  thoroughly  and  absolutely  dominate 
it  that  the  Indian,  except  as  a  means  to  an  end,  disap- 
peared in  the  country's  history.  The  very  absence  in 
the  Spanish  records  of  Indian  names,  except  those  of 
towns,  is  an  indication  of  how  completely  the  submer- 
gence was.  The  government  was  one  of,  by  and  for  the 
Spaniards.  It  must  be  said,  however,  in  justice  to  the 
invaders,  that  they  respected,  in  many  cases,  the  tribal 
rights  to  community  lands.  The  Mexican  tribes  had 
no  private  ownership  of  land,  but  each  tribe  or  commu- 
nity had  an  allotment  of  laud  which  was  owned  in  com- 
mon, and  worked  in  common  or  in  rotation  by  the  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  tribe.  The  Spanish,  in  many  of 
their  grants,  specifically  exempted  such  community 
lands,  and  a  good  many  Mexican  villages  to  this  day 
own  common  land  which  has  been  so  held  from  the  days 
of  the  ALztecs. 


SPANISH  MEXICO  49 

An  interesting  event  during  the  Spanish  rule  was  the 
sending  from  Mexico  of  an  expedition,  in  1611,  to 
Japan,  with  the  object  of  charting  the  coast  with  a 
view  toward  establishing  trade.  The  expedition  was 
well  received  in  Japan,  but,  on  learning  that  the  Span- 
ish wished  to  chart  the  coasts,  the  Japanese  became 
appuhensive  lest  the  ultimate  object  might  be  to  pre- 
pare for  a  conquest,  and  the  commissioners  were  ordered 
to  leave.  The  expedition  came  to  nothing,  and  the  at- 
tempt is  of  interest  only  as  the  first  effort  of  people  of 
European  blood  to  get  in  touch  with  the  affairs  of  the 
Japanese  empire. 


CHAPTER  VI 
INDEPENDENCE 

Spain,  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  rose  to  the  height 
of  her  power  and  glory.  The  crowns  of  Castile  and 
Aragon,  united  by  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella, fell  by  inheritance  to  Charles  the  Fifth,  who,  as 
Emperor  of  the  Holy  German  Empire  and  Archduke  of 
Austria,  ruled  over  a  vast  empire.  Spanish  armies  had 
swept  over  France  and  Italy.  The  Spanish  Americas, 
extending  over  the  greater  part  of  the  length  of  two 
continents,  were  pouring  into  the  mother  country  a 
steady  stream  of  treasure.  The  Philippines  formed  the 
commercial  base  for  a  great  Oriental  trade.  Under 
Philip  the  Second,  Charles'  successor,  this  great  empire 
was  consolidated,  and  became,  far  more  than  it  had  been 
under  Charles,  a  Spanish  empire,  with  Madrid  as  its 
capital.  The  Spanish  flag  floated  in  every  sea.  Spain, 
in  a  hundred  years,  had  leaped  from  an  insigiiificant 
position  to  that  of  the  great  world  power.  But  the  em- 
pire was  to  fall  faster  than  it  had  risen.  In  1588  an 
event,  the  consequences  of  which  were  not  then  realized, 
changed  world  history.  Through  the  defeat  by  the  Eng- 
lish of  Philip's  "  Invincible  Armada  "  Spain  lost  con- 
trol of  the  se*a,  and  from  then  on  her  position  became  a 
secondary  one.  She  kept  her  colonies  and  retained  part 
of  her  commerce,  but  her  domination  in  world  affairs 
was  gone.  The  Spanish  rulers,  occupied  with  troubles 
at  home,  paid  little  attention  to  the  colonies,  whose  af- 
fairs were  intrusted  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies.     The 

50 


INDEPENDE]^CE  61 

stream  of  wealth  pouring  in  from  Mexico  and  Pern 
helped  to  enervate  the  whole  government.  The  wealth, 
of  an  artificial  character,  led  to  neglect  of  internal  devel- 
opment, and  the  general  tendency  was  to  govern  the 
colonial  possessions  on  the  basis  of  squeezing  out  of 
them  the  last  peso  of  revenue.  There  was  little  of  a 
constructive  character,  and  much,  in  fact,  to  discourage 
real  progress. 

Erom  time  to  time  there  were  ministers  who  realized 
the  danger  of  a  form  of  government  which  gave  little 
and  exacted  much.  In  1783  the  Conde  de  Aranda,  in  a 
private  memorandum  to  the  King,  deplored  the  aid 
given  by  the  Spanish  to  the  British  American  colonies 
in  their  fight  for  independence.  He  pointed  out  that 
while  England  was  Spain's  enemy,  the  example  of  the 
northern  colonies  might  easily  be  followed  by  the  Span- 
ish colonies.  His  memorandum  continues :  "  The  lib- 
erty of  religion,  the  ease  of  settling  people  and  vast  tracts 
of  land,  and  the  advantages  which  the  new  form  of  gov- 
ernment offers,  will  attract  the  artisans  and  laborers  of 
all  nations  .  .  .  and  within  a  few  years  we  shall  see, 
with  the  greatest  regret,  a  colossus  as  our  neighbor. 
Once  this  Anglo-American  power  is  enlarged  and  estab- 
lished, we  cannot  but  believe  that  its  first  vision  will  be 
that  of  the  possession  of  the  Floridas  in  order  to  domi- 
nate in  the  Mexican  sphere.  Once  this  is  accomplished, 
it  will  not  only  be  in  a  position  to  interrupt  our  com- 
merce with  Mexico  whenever  it  wishes,  but  it  will  aspire 
to  the  conquest  of  that  vast  empire, —  which  we,  from 
Europe,  could  not  defend  against  a  power  grand,  for- 
midable and  established  on  the  same  continent.  .  .  . 
These  are  not  vain  fears,  but  truthful  prognostications 
of  what  must  inevitably  happen.  .  .  .  How  is  it  possible 
that  the  American  colonies,  when  they  are  in  a  position 
to  conquer  Mexico,  will  refrain  themselves  and  leave  us 


52      MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MORROW 

in  peaceful  possession  of  that  rich  country  ?  It  is  not 
believable,  and,  therefore,  sound  policy  dictates  that  we 
should,  in  time,  take  measure  to  prevent  evils  which  may 
overwhelm  us."  The  Conde  recommends  that  three  new 
kingdoms  be  formed,  one  of  Mexico,  one  of  Peru,  and 
the  third  of  the  remaining  Spanish  possessions,  the  ruler 
of  each  to  be  named  by  the  Spanish  crown,  but  each 
kingdom  to  be  given  entire  freedom  to  legislate  for 
itself.  Under  the  stimulus  of  home  rule  each  kingdom 
would  so  develop  as  to  be  strong  enough  to  protect  itself 
from  attack,  while  Spain  would  derive  benefit  in  con- 
tinuing a  healthy  commerce  with  the  new  countries. 

Had  the  counsel  given  in  this  remarkable  document 
been  followed,  the  catastrophe  which  lost  Spain  all  her 
American  possessions  might  have  been  averted.  Neither 
to  this  nor  to  other  occasional  pieces  of  sound  advice 
given  was  any  attention  paid.  The  whole  tendency  of 
the  Spanish  policy  was  to  alienate  the  sympathy  of  the 
colonies.  The  vision  of  Aranda  came  true,  and,  once 
the  American  colonies  were  firmly  established,  the  Span- 
ish colonies,  one  by  one,  began  to  fight  for  independence. 
In  this  effort  they  were  greatly  aided  by  internal  condi- 
tions in  Spain.  Napoleon  had  overrun  the  country,  and 
the  King,  kept  on  the  throne  by  him,  had  alienated  the 
people.  Many  loyal  Spaniards  in  Mexico  and  other 
colonies  felt  that  their  mother  country,  dominated  by 
foreigners,  could' no  longer  claim  their  allegiance. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  Mexico 
was  by  far  the  most  important  of  the  Spanish  colonial 
possessions.  The  country  had  over  five  millions  of 
people,  and  the  capital,  with  135,000  inhabitants,  was 
the  most  important  city  of  the  new  world.  The  govern- 
ment revenues  were  twenty  million  pesos  a  year,  the 
foreign  commerce  amounted  to  thirty-two  million  pesos, 
and  mineral  production  exceeded  twenty  million  pesos. 


indepe:n'dence  53 

The  well-to-do  class,  including  many  loyal  Spaniards, 
was  galled  by  the  stream  of  revenues  going  out  of  the 
country  for  the  support  of  a  government  dominated  by 
Xapoleon.  The  Spanish  residents  of  Mexico  were, 
moreover,  greatly  irritated  by  the  fact  that  they  had 
little  or  no  participation  in  government  affairs,  w^iich, 
from  the  most  important  matters  down  to  petty  details, 
were  handled  by  people  who  were  new  to  the  country  and 
not  in  sympathy  with  its  ideas.  Of  the  sixty-four  vice- 
roys who  had  represented  the  Crown  only  one  had  been 
born  in  Mexico,  and.  the  same  general  condition  pre- 
vailed as  to  minor  posts.  In  the  church,  conditions 
were  no  better  for  the  native  born  element.  The  post 
of  archbishop  had,  with  one  exception,  never  been  given 
to  any  one  born  in  the  country,  and  the  bishops  of 
Mexico,  Guadalajara  and  Michoacan  were  almost  invari- 
ably of  foreigTi  birth.  The  industries  of  the  country  had 
largely  been  farmed  out,  under  monopolistic  conces- 
sions, to  court  favorites  who,  having  no  natural  sympa- 
thy for  the  country,  had  no  hesitation  about  exploiting 
it  for  their  own  benefit. 

All  internal  conditions  were  favorable  for  a  change. 
In  Spain  the  people  were  in  open  rebellion  and  fighting 
heroically  to  throw  out  the  Erench  usurpers  of  their 
government.  Moreover,  the  prosperous  development  of 
the  United  States  under  its  new  government  furnished 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  devastated  condition  of  Europe, 
then  struggling  in  the  throes  of  the  Napoleonic  wars. 
Everything  tended  to  encourage  a  break  between  Mexico 
and  the  mother  country.  A  movement  toward  independ- 
ence, started  in  1808  in  Queretero,  was  carried  along 
secretly  for  two  years,  enlisting,  during  this  time,  the 
sympathy  and  support  of  Miguel  Hidalgo,  a  native  bom 
priest  who  soon  assumed  the  leadership  of  the  cause. 
On  the  sixteenth  of  September,   1810,  Hidalgo,  then 


54     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AISTD  TO-MOEEOW 

parish  priest  of  Dolores,  learning  that  the  conspiracy 
had  been  betrayed  to  the  government,  anticipated  any 
action  by  seizing  the  local  authorities  and  government 
funds,  making,  at  the  time,  a  public  speech  which  pro- 
claimed the  object  of  the  movement  to  be  that  of  taking 
the  government  out  of  the  hands  of  Europeans,  who,  he 
said,  had  already  delivered  their  own  country  to  the 
French  and  who  would  follow  up  their  treason  by  soon 
handing  Mexico  over  to  the  invaders.  The  revolution 
made  headway  rapidly,  gathering  in  force  of  numbers 
day  by  day.  The  towns  of  Celayo  and  Queretero  fell, 
making  little  or  no  resistance,  and  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  September  Guanajuato,  after  a  heroic  defense  by  the 
Governor  and  the  small  force  he  had  with  him,  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  revolutionists.  The  revolutionary 
force,  while  large  in  numbers,  was  hardly  more  than  a 
mob.  There  was  nothing  like  military  organization  or 
discipline,  and  the  fall  of  each  town  was  accompanied 
by  great  excesses.  The  homes  of  Spanish  residents  were 
plundered  of  everything  of  value,  and  shops  were  sacked 
by  the  troops  and  populace.  Word  of  the  insurrection 
reached  Mexico  City  quickly,  and  preparations  were 
made  for  the  defense  of  the  capital  and  for  the  gathering 
of  sufficient  forces  to  put  down  the  uprising.  The  in- 
surgent army  slowly  improved  in  organization,  took 
town  after  town,  and  finally,  on  October  thirtieth,  de- 
feated the  royalist  forces  within  twenty  miles  of  the 
capital.  Hidalgo  was  unable,  for  lack  of  arms  and  pow- 
der, to  follow  up  this  victory  by  taking  the  capital  itself, 
and  decided  to  return  to  Queretero.  The  march  north 
was  abruptly  interrupted  on  the  seventh  day  of  Novem- 
ber by  an  encounter  with  royalist  forces  going  to  the 
aid  of  the  capital.  The  revolutionary  forces,  unpre- 
pared for  an  attack  and  lacking  arms  and  ammunition, 
were  disastrously  defeated,  and  Hidalgo  and  other  lead- 


INDEPENDENCE  55 

ers  barely  managed  to  reach  Queretero.  The  movement, 
however,  spread  throughout  the  country,  and  Hidalgo 
was  able  to  gather  a  sufficient  force  to  take  Guadalajara, 
where  the  first  steps  were  taken  to  form  a  regular  gov- 
ernment. The  record  of  the  early  days  of  the  revolu- 
tion is  blackened  by  the  excesses  committed  in  various 
towns.  The  revolt,  however,  resulted  in  a  decree  being 
issued  by  the  Viceroy  prohibiting  slavery  and  abolishing 
head  taxes.  The  first  act  of  the  newly  formed  govern- 
ment was  to  issue  a  similar  decree.  The  weak  position 
of  the  insurgents  at  Guanajuato  was  betrayed  to  Calleja, 
the  royalist  general,  who  proceeded  to  attack  the  city. 
The  revolutionary  forces,  unable  to  withstand  the  attack 
of  a  well  equipped  force,  evacuated  the  city.  Before 
leaving  they  entered  the  jail  and  killed  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  out  of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  Span- 
iards who  had  been  arrested  and  placed  in  confinement. 
Calleja  retaliated  by  killing  every  one  encountered  on 
the  streets  when  the  town  was  occupied,  some  four  hun- 
dred people,  most  of  them  in  no  way  connected  with  the 
revolt,  giving  up  their  lives  in  this  act  of  bloody  ven- 
geance. Allende  and  others  of  the  insurgents  now 
joined  Hidalgo  at  Guadalajara,  where  the  butchery  of 
innocent  Spaniards  was  repeated,  two  hundred  being 
killed.  Hidalgo  determined  to  attack  the  royalist  forces, 
counting  on  the  large  number  of  his  men  for  victory. 
He  had  a  total  of  thirty  thousand  men  to  draw  on,  and 
from  these  he  formed  seven  battalions  of  infantry,  six 
squadrons  of  cavalry  and  two  batteries  of  artillery,  the 
force  totaling  three  thousand  four  hundred  men.  There 
were,  however,  only  twelve  hundred  muskets,  and  of 
these  many  were  useless.  The  army  marched  out  of 
Guadalajara  and  arrived  at  Calderon,  thirty-five  miles 
distant,  on  January  fourteenth,  1811.  Calleja,  with 
seven  thousand  men,  attacked  the  force  on  the  seven- 


56     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

teenth,  and  completely  routed  it,  Hidalgo,  Allende  and 
others  leaders  managing,  however,  to  escape.  The  roy- 
alist forces  now  reoccupied  Guadalajara,  and  later  took 
all  the  towns  which  Hidalgo  had  held.  Hidalgo,  Al- 
lende and  thirty  other  leaders  were  later  betrayed  to  the 
royalists,  and  all  were  executed  in  July,  1811.  The 
heads  of  Hidalgo,  Allende  and  Aldama  were  set  on 
spikes  on  the  jail  in  Guanajuato  and  remained  there,  a 
grewsome  warning,  for  ten  years. 

Early  in  the  revolutionary  movement  the  church  had 
excommunicated  Hidalgo  and  other  leaders,  and  had 
threatened  with  excommunication  any  who  gave  mate- 
rial or  moral  support  to  the  cause.  Neither  this  nor  the 
execution  of  the  leaders  was  effective,  however,  in  sup- 
pressi  ^  revolutionary  ideas,  and  armed  opposition  to 
the  go"  ernment  developed  rapidly  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.  Jose  Maria  Morelos  became,  soon  after  the 
death  of  Hidalgo,  the  leader  of  the  revolution,  and  for 
four  years  conducted  military  operations  which  were 
successful  only  in  harassing  the  government.  He  was 
finally  defeated,  captured,  and  shot. 

During  all  this  time  a  form  of  revolutionary  govern- 
ment was  maintained,  but  the  government,  such  as  it 
was,  had  to  shift  frequently  and  rapidly  in  the  series  of 
successes  and  defeats  which  its  army  met.  Neverthe- 
less, the  movement  was  gradually  becoming  an  organized 
one,  gaining  strength  in  numbers  and  leaders  from 
month  to  month,  and  was,  in  fact,  so  formidable  that  by 
1820,  the  government  was  obliged  to  maintain  an  army 
of  85,000  men  in  the  field.  Augustin  de  Iturbide,  an 
officer  in  the  royalist  army,  in  1821  conceived  the  idea 
of  a  compromise  by  establishing  an  independent  consti- 
tutional monarchy  in  Mexico,  with  Fernando  VII  of 
Spain  as  King.  The  plan,  so-called  that  of  Iguala, 
received  the  approval  of  the  new  viceroy  with  the  under- 


INDEPENDENCE  57 

standing  that  should  Fernando  VII  be  unable  to  accept 
the  throne  one  of  his  sons  should  be  chosen  in  his  place. 
This  plan  was  carried  out,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
September,  1821,  Iturbide  entered  the  capital  in  the 
rule  of  liberator  of  the  country,  A  provisional  govern- 
ment was  named,  with  Juan  O'Donoju  as  provisional 
viceroy.  Iturbide  had  doubtless  counted  on  the  disap- 
proval of  the  plan  by  the  Spanish  government,  and  cal- 
culated that,  once  in  power,  he  would  be  in  a  position  to 
deal  with  the  situation.  The  Spanish  government 
repudiated  the  arrangement,  and  Iturbide's  followers 
promptly  set  up  a  cry  demanding  that  he  be  proclaimed 
emperor.  On  May  eighteenth  a  Congress  was  called, 
and  Iturbide  was  elected  emperor,  and  his  co'onation 
followed  on  July  twentieth.  Congress,  which  as  Itur- 
bide's  tool,  voted  him  a  salary  of  one  and  one-'ialf  mil- 
lion pesos,  an  amount  which,  however,  for  lack  of  funds, 
was  never  paid.  Shortly  after  this,  Iturbide  dissolved 
Congress,  and  proceeded  to  run  affairs  under  a  dictator- 
ship. The  government  extravagance,  coupled  with  its 
methods,  provoked  a  new  revolution  led  by  Antonio 
Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  which  received  the  support  of  the 
army.  As  a  result  Iturbide  was  obliged  to  abdicate, 
and  left  Mexico  on  April  11,  1823.  Although  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  country,  Iturbide,  in  recognition  of 
his  services  in  securing  the  independence  of  Mexico, 
received  an  annual  pension  of  25,000  pesos. 

The  Mexican  Republic  was  then  proclaimed,  and  was 
organized  in  October,  1824,  as  a  constitutional  repre- 
sentative republic  with  eighteen  states  and  four  terri- 
tories, and  D.  Guadalupe  Victoria  was  elected  presi- 
dent. The  fortress  of  Ulua,  near  Vera  Cruz,  the  last 
Spanish  stronghold  in  Mexico,  capitulated  on  November 
18,  1825.  Manuel  Gomez  Pedraza  succeeded  Victoria, 
but  held  office  only  a  few  weeks,  being  forced  out  by 


58      MEXICO  TO-DAY  ANB  TO-MORROW 

Vicente  Guerrero,  who  had  the  support  of  Santa  Anna 
and  other  military  leaders.  In  1829,  an  army  of  four 
thousand  men,  sent  out  from  Spain  in  an  attempt  to  re- 
conquer the  country,  seized  Tampico,  but,  attacked  by 
Santa  Anna  and  General  Teran,  was  obliged  to  capitu- 
late, surrender  its  arms  and  sail  for  Spain  after  its 
leaders  had  given  a  promise  that  no  further  effort  would 
be  made  by  Spain  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  new 
republic.  Internal  troubles,  however,  were  more  calcu- 
lated to  bring  disaster  than  attacks  from  without.  Gen- 
eral Anastasio  Bustamente  overthrew  Guerrero's  rule 
and  succeeded  in  dominating  most  of  the  country. 
Guerrero  withdrew  to  the  south  and  organized  a  formid- 
able army.  The  captain  of  a  Sardinian  ship  purchased 
by  Guerrero  was  .bribed  by  Bustamente  to  betray  the 
ex-president,  who  was  invited  to  lunch  on  board  in  Aca- 
pulco  harbor  and  seized  when  luncheon  was  over.  The 
unfortunate  Guerrero  was  taken  in  Oaxaca,  tried  by  an 
irregular  court  martial  and  executed.  This  act  pro- 
duced a  reaction  of  feeling,  and  Santa  Anna  led  a  move- 
ment to  overthrow  Bustamente,  who  was  obliged,  in 
December,  1832,  to  sign  a  convention  recognizing  as 
President,  Gomez  Pedraza,  under  the  election  of  1828. 
Pedrazo  served  an  unexpired  term  of  three  months, 
when  Santa  Anna  was  elected  as  his  successor. 

The  early  years  of  the  Mexican  Republic  were  char- 
acterized by  a  long  series  of  factional  and  personal 
quarrels  in  which  the  control  of  the  public  treasury 
seems  to  have  figured  as  the  main  prize.  Each  govern- 
ment left  the  treasury  bankrupt,  and,  in  fact,  the  early 
fall  of  a  government  was  usually  foreshadowed  by  heavy 
treasury  deficits.  Why  the  treasury  should  have  figured 
as  a  prize  would,  therefore,  be  inexplicable  but  for  the 
fact  that  each  government,  on  coming  into  power, 
promptly  repudiated  all  the  obligations  of  its  prede- 


INDEPE]!^DENCE  59 

cesser,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  start  off  with  a  clean 
sheet.  Every  new  government  introduced  something 
new  in  the  way  of  taxes,  spent  lavishly  while  the  pro- 
ceeds lasted,  and  then  collapsed  or  was  overthrown.  No 
one  had  any*conlidence  in  whatever  government  or  party 
happened  to  be  in  power.  In  1836,  when  Texas  de- 
clared its  independence  and  funds  had  to  be  raised  to 
equip  an  army  to  suppress  the  revolt,  the  government 
raised,  on  loans,  2,200,000  pesos,  paying  40  per  cent, 
interest  for  half  a  million  and  4  per  cent,  per  month  for 
the  balance ! 

The  Texas  campaign  was  a  comj)lete  disaster.  Santa 
Anna,  had  he  been  an  able  military  leader,  might  have, 
with  his  six  thousand  men,  put  a  quick  end  to  the  young 
republic.  He  committed,  however,  great  excesses,  burn- 
ing towns  and  villages,  shooting  prisoners,  and  permit- 
ting his  soldiers  to  loot,  all  this  "  f rightfulness  "  only 
arousing  the  most  determined  spirit  of  resistance. 
Moreover,  he  had  no  plan  of  campaign,  and  permitted 
his  own  forces  to  separate  into  two  or  three  units,  the 
better,  probably,  to  carry  out  the  general  idea  of  laying 
the  country  waste.  On  April  21,  1836,  he,  with  thir- 
teen hundred  men,  was  surprised  by  the  Texan  army  of 
eight  hundred  men  under  Sam  Houston.  The  Mexican 
force  was  completely  routed  and  Santa  Anna  taken  pris- 
oner. Santa  Anna,  in  grave  danger  of  being  shot  in 
reprisal  for  the  shooting  of  Texan  prisoners,  sent  orders 
to  Filisola,  his  second  in  command,  to  withdraw  his 
three  thousand  men  and  await  orders  —  an  act  of  per- 
sonal cowardice  which  the  Mexican  people  have  never 
forgotten.  Filisola  followed  his  instructions,  and  Santa 
Anna,  after  some  months  of  life  in  prison,  secured  his 
own  liberty  by  agreeing  to  recognize  the  independence 
of  Texas.  Santa  Anna  returned  to  Mexico,  where  the 
government  declined  to  support  his  action,  and  endeav- 


60     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

ored,  unsuccessfully,  to  raise  funds  for  a  new  campaign 
against  Texas.  While  discredited,  Santa  Anna  man- 
aged to  keep  a  hold  on  the  military  element,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  a  power  in  politics  for  some  years. 

In  1836  Spain  gave  official  recognition  to  the  Mexi- 
can rej)ublic.  This,  coupled  with  the  elimination  of 
complications  through  the  independence  of  Texas,  prom- 
ised Mexico  freedom  from  foreign  troubles.  Mean- 
while, however,  trouble  had  been  brewing  with  France 
over  a  question  of  claims  of  French  citizens  for  losses 
in  the  various  upheavals  in  Mexico,  and  in  1839  France 
sent  a  squadron  of  ten  ships  to  Mexico,  established  a 
blockade  and  captured  Vera  Cruz  after  a  bombardment 
in  which,  incidentally,  Santa  Anna  lost  a  leg.  The 
French  claims  were  settled  by  the  payment  of  600,000 
pesos,  for  200,000  pesos  of  which  the  French  govern- 
ment never  found  any  claimants. 


CHAPTER  VII 
MADAME  CALDERON  DE  LA  BARCA 

It  would  be  wearisome  to  go  into  the  detail  of  the 
petty  squabbles  and  the  series  of  political  turnovers  in 
the  next  few  years  of  Mexican  history.  A  vivid  pic- 
ture has  been  painted,  however,  by  Madame  Calderon 
de  la  Barca,  wife  of  the  first  minister  sent  by  Spain 
to  Mexico,  in  her  "  Life  in  Mexico,"  first  published  in 
1842  and  republished  recently  (E.  P.  Button  &  Co., 
New  York).  Madame  de  la  Barca  was  Scotch  and  en- 
dowed with  a  rich  fund  of  the  wit  of  her  race.  Her 
book  not  only  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  life  in  Mexico 
but  is  bright  and  entertaining  throughout,  and  well 
worth  reading.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  conditions 
prevailing  eighty  years  ago  the  following  extracts  from 
this  charming  work  are  given. 

"  One  circumstance  must  be  observed  by  all  who 
travel  in  Mexican  territory.  There  is  not  one  human 
being  or  passing  object  that  is  not  in  itself  a  picture, 
or  which  would  not  form  a  good  subject  for  the  pencil. 
The  Indian  women  with  their  plaited  hair,  and  little 
children  slung  to  their  backs,  their  large  straw  hats, 
and  petticoats  of  two  colors  —  the  long  strings  of  ar- 
rieros  with  their  loaded  mules,  and  swarthy,  wild-look- 
ing faces  —  the  chance  horseman  who  passes  with  his 
sarape  of  many  colors,  his  high  ornamented  saddle, 
Mexican  silver  stirrups,  and  leathern  boots  —  this  is 
picturesque.     Salvator  Rosa  and  Hogarth  might  have 

61 


62      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MOKROW 

traveled  here  to  advantage:  Salvator  for  the  sublime, 
and  Hogarth  taking  him  up  when  the  sublime  became 
the  ridiculous.  .  .  . 

"  The  coimnon  Indians,  whom  we  see  every  day  bring- 
ing in  their  fruit  and  vegetables  to  market,  are,  gener- 
ally speaking,  very  plain,  with  an  humble,  mild  expres- 
sion of  countenance,  very  gentle,  and  wonderfully 
polite  in  their  manners  to  each  other ;  but  occasionally, 
in  the  lower  classes,  one  sees  a  face  and  form  so  beauti- 
ful, that  we  might  suppose  such  another  was  the  Indian 
who  enchanted  Cortes;  with  eyes  and  hair  of  extraor- 
dinary beauty,  a  complexion  dark  but  glowing,  with  the 
Indian  beauty  of  teeth  like  the  driven  snow,  together 
with  small  feet  and  beautifully-shaped  hands  and  arms, 
however  imbrowned  by  sun  and  toil.  .  .  . 

"  It  has  a  character  peculiar  to  itself,  great  plains 
of  maguey,  with  its  huts  with  uncultivated  patches,  that 
have  once  been  gardens,  still  filled  with  flowers  and 
choked  with  weeds;  the  huts  themselves,  generally  of 
mud,  yet  not  unfrequently  of  solid  stone,  roofless  and 
windowless,  with  traces  of  having  been  fine  buildings 
in  former  days ;  the  complete  solitude,  unbroken  except 
by  the  passing  Indian,  certainly  as  much  in  a  state  of 
savage  nature  as  the  lower  class  of  Mexicans  were  when 
Cortes  first  traversed  these  plains  —  with  the  same 
character,  gentle  and  cowardly,  false  and  cunning,  as 
weak  animals  are  apt  to  be  by  nature,  and  indolent 
and  improvident  as  men  are  in  a  fine  climate;  ruins 
everywhere  —  here  a  viceroy's  country  palace  serving 
as  a  tavern,  where  the  mules  stop  to  rest,  and  the  driv- 
ers to  drink  pulque  —  there,  a  whole  village  crumbling 
to  pieces ;  roofless  houses,  broken  down  walls  and  arches, 
an  old  church  —  the  remains  of  a  convent.  .  .  .  For 
leagues  scarcely  a  tree  to  be  seen ;  then  a  clump  of  the 
graceful  Arbol  de  Peru,  or  one  great  cypress  —  long 


MADAME  CALDEEOJSr  DE  LA  BAKCA     63 

strings  of  mules  and  asses,  with  their  drivers  —  pas- 
ture-fields with  cattle  —  then  again  whole  tracts  of 
maguey,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach;  no  roads  worthy 
of  the  name,  but  a  passage  made  between  fields  of 
maguey,  bordered  by  crumbling-down  low  stone  walls, 
causing  a  jolting  from  which  not  even  the  easy  move- 
ment of  Charles  X's  coach  can  save  us.  But  the  horses 
go  at  full  gallop,  accustomed  to  go  through  and  over 
everything.  .  .  . 

"  Then  as  to  schools,  there  are  none  that  can  deserve 
the  name,  and  no  governesses.  Young  girls  can  have  no 
emulation,  for  they  never  meet.  They  have  no  public 
diversion,  and  no  private  amusement.  There  are  a  few 
good  foreign  masters,  most  of  whom  have  come  to  Mex- 
ico for  the  purpose  of  making  their  fortune,  by  teach- 
ing, or  marriage,  or  both,  and  whose  object,  naturally, 
is  to  make  the  most  money  in  the  shortest  possible  time, 
that  they  may  return  home  and  enjoy  it.  The  children 
generally  appear  to  have  an  extraordinary  disposition 
for  music  and  drawing,  yet  there  are  few  girls  who  are 
proficient  in  either.  .  .  . 

"  REVOLUTION  in  Mexico !  or  Pronunciamiento, 
as  they  call  it.  The  storm  which  has  for  some  time 
been  brewing  has  burst  forth  at  last.  Don  Valentin 
Gomez  Farias  and  the  banished  General  Urrea  have 
pronounced  for  federalism.  At  two  this  morning, 
joined  by  the  fifth  battalion  and  the  regiment  of  comer- 
cio,  they  took  up  arms,  set  off  for  the  palace,  surprised 
the  president  in  his  bed,  and  took  him  prisoner.  Our 
first  information  was  a  message  arriving  on  the  part  of 
the  goverament,  desiring  the  attendance  of  two  old  sol- 
diers, who  put  on  their  old  uniforms,  and  set  off  quite 

pleased.     JSText    came    our    friend    Don    M del 

C 0,  who  advised  us  to  haul  out  the  Spanish  col- 
ors, that  they  might  be  in  readiness  to  fly  on  the  bal- 


64      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

cony  in  case  of  necessity.  Little  by  little,  more  Span- 
iards arrived  with  different  reports  as  to  the  state  of 
thing's.  Some  say  that  it  will  end  in  a  few  hours  ■ — ■ 
others,  that  it  will  be  a  long  and  bloody  contest.  Some 
are  assured  that  it  will  merely  tern;inate  in  a  change 
of  ministry  —  others  that  Santa  Anna  will  come  on 
directly  and  usurp  the  presidency.  At  all  events,  Gen- 
eral Valencia,  at  the  head  of  the  government  troops,  is 
about  to  attack  the  pronunciados,  who  are  in  possession 
of  the  palace.  .  .  . 

"  The  firing  has  begTin !  People  come  running  up 
the  street.  The  Indians  are  hurrying  back  to  their  vil- 
lages in  double-quick  trot.  As  we  are  not  in  the  center 
of  the  city,  our  position  for  the  present  is  very  safe, 
all  the  cannon  being  directed  towards  the  palace.  All 
the  streets  near  the  square  are  planted  with  cannon, 
and  it  is  pretended  that  the  revolutionary  party  are 
giving  arms  to  the  leperos.  The  cannon  are  roaring 
now.  All  along  the  street  people  are  standing  on  the 
balconies,  looking  anxiously  in  the  direction  of  the  pal- 
ace, or  collected  in  groups  before  the  doors,  and  the 
azoteas,  which  are  out  of  the  line  of  fire,  are  covered 
with  men.  They  are  ringing  the  tocsin  —  things  seem 
to  be  getting  serious. 

"  Nine  o'clock,  p.  m. —  Continuation  of  firing  without 
interruption.  I  have  spent  the  day  standing  on  the 
balcony,  looking  at  the  smoke,  and  listening  to  the  dif- 
ferent rumors.  Gomez  Farias  has  been  proclaimed 
president  by  his  party.  The  streets  near  the  square 
are  said  to  be  strewed  with  dead  and  wounded.  There 
was  a  terrible  thunderstorm  this  afternoon.  Mingled 
with  the  roaring  of  the  cannon,  it  sounded  like  a  strife 
between  heavenly  and  earthly  artillery.  We  shall  not 
pass  a  very  easy  night,  especially  without  our  soldiers. 


MADAME  CALDEROK  DE  LA  BARCA     65 

Unfortunately  there  is  a  bright  moon,  so  night  brings 
no  interruption  to  the  firing  and  slaughter. 

"  Our  lirst  news  was  brought  very  early  this  morning 
by  the  wife  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  who  came  in  gi-eat 
despair  to  tell  us  that  both  her  husband  and  his  com- 
rade are  shot,  though  not  killed  —  that  they  were 
amongst  the  first  who  fell ;   and  she  came  to  entreat 

C n  to  prevent  their  being  sent  to  the  hospital.     It 

is  reported  that  Bustamente  has  escaped,  and  that  he 
fought  his  way,  sword  in  hand,  through  the  soldiers 
who  guarded  him  in  his  apartment.  Almonte  at  all 
events  is  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  The  balls  have 
entered  many  houses  in  the  square.  It  must  be  terri- 
bly dangerous  for  those  who  live  there,  and  amongst 
others,  for  our  friend  Senor  Tagle,  Director  of  the 
Monte  Pio,  and  his  family. 

''They  have  just  brought  the  government  bulletin, 
which  gives  the  following  statement  of  the  circum- 
stances :  '  Yesterday,  at  midnight,  Urrea,  with  a  hand- 
ful of  troops  belonging  to  the  garrison  and  its  neighbor- 
hood took  possession  of  the  National  Palace,  surprising 
the  guard,  and  committing  the  incivility  of  imprisoning 
His  Excellency  the  President,  Don  Anastasio  Busta- 
mente, the  commander-in-chief,  the  Mayor  de  la  Plaza, 
and  other  chiefs.  Don  Gabriel  Valencia,  chief  of  the 
plana  mayor  (the  staff).  General  Don  Antonio  Mozo,  and 
the  Minister  of  War,  Don  Juan  Nepomuceno  Almonte, 
reunited  in  the  citadel,  prepared  to  attack  the  prouunci- 
ados,  who,  arming  the  lowest  populace,  took  possession  of 
the  towers  of  the  cathedral,  and  of  some  of  the  highest 
edifices  in  the  center  of  the  city.  Although  summoned 
to  surrender,  at  two  in  the  afternoon  firing  began,  and 
continued  till  midnight,  recommencing  at  five  in  the 
morning,  and  only  ceasing  at  intervals.     The  colonel  of 


66     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

the  sixth  regiment,  together  with  a  considerable  part  of 
his  corps,  who  were  in  the  barracks  of  the  palace,  es- 
caped and  joined  the  government  troops,  who  have  taken 
the  greater  part  of  the  positions  near  the  square  and 
the  palace.  His  Excellency  the  President,  with  a  part 
of  the  troops  which  had  pronounced  in  the  palace,  made 
his  escape  on  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth,  putting  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  troops  who  have  remained  faith- 
ful to  their  colors,  and  at  night  published  the  following 
proclamation : 

"  '  "  The  President  of  the  Republic  to  the  Mexican 
Nation. 

'i  i  "  Fellow-Citizens :  The  seduction  which  has 
spread  over  a  very  small  part  of  the  people  and  garri- 
son of  this  capital ;  the  f orgetf ulness  of  honor  and  duty, 
have  caused  the  defection  of  a  few  soldiers,  whose  mis- 
conduct up  to  this  hour  has  been  thrown  into  confusion 
by  the  valiant  behavior  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  chiefs, 
officers,  and  soldiers,  who  have  intrepidly  followed  the 
example  of  the  valiant  general-in-chief  of  the  plana 
mayor  of  the  army.  The  government  was  not  ignorant 
of  the  machinations  that  were  carrying  on ;  their  au- 
thors were  well  known  to  it,  and  it  foresaw  that  the 
gentleness  and  clemency  which  it  had  hitherto  employed 
in  order  to  disarm  them,  would  be  corresponded  to  with 
ingratitude. 

u  <  a  -pjjjg  ijjjg  Qf  policy  has  caused  the  nation  to  re- 
main headless  (acefala)  for  some  hours,  and  public 
tranquillity  to  be  disturbed;  but  my  liberty  being  re- 
stored, the  dissidents,  convinced  of  the  evils  which  have 
been  and  may  be  caused  by  these  tumults,  depend  upon 
a  reconciliation  for  their  security.  The  government 
will  remember  that  they  are  misled  men,  belonging  to 
the  great  Mexican  family,  but  not  for  this  will  it  for- 
get how  much  they  have  forfeited  their  rights  to  respect ; 


MADAME  CALDERON  DE  LA  BARCA     67 

nor  what  is  due  to  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation.  Public 
tranquillity  will  be  restored  in  a  few  hours;  the  laws 
will  immediately  recover  their  energy  and  the  govern- 
ment will  see  them  obeyed. 

"  '  "  Anastasio  Bustamente. 
"  '  "  Mexico,  July  16th,  1840. 


55   J 


"  A  roar  of  cannon  from  the  Palace,  which  made  the 
house  shake  and  the  windows  rattle,  and  caused  me  to 
throw  a  blot  over  the  President's  good  name,  seems 
the;  answer  to  this  proclamation. 

/'  17th. —  The  state  of  things  is  very  bad.  Cannon 
pltmted,  all  along  the  streets,  and  soldiers  firing  indis- 
criminately on  all  who  pass.     Count  C a  slightly 

wounded,  and  carried  to  his  country-house  at  Tacubaya, 
Two  Spaniards  have  escaped  from  their  house,  into 
which  the  balls  were  pouring,  and  have  taken  refuge 

here.     The  E family  have  kept  their  house,  which 

is  in  the  very  center  of  the  affray,  cannons  planted  be- 
fore their  door,  and  all  their  windows  already  smashed. 
Indeed,  nearly  all  the  houses  in  that  quarters  are  aban- 
doned.    We  are  living  here  like  prisoners  in  a  fortress. 

The  Countess  Del  V e,  whose  father  was  shot    in 

a  former  revolution,  had  just  risen  this  morning,  when 
a  shell  entered  the  wall  close  by  the  side  of  her  bed,  and 
burst  in  the  mattress. 

"  As  there  are  two  sides  to  every  story,  listen  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  chief  of  the  rebels. 

" '  Seiior  Valentin  Gomez  Farias  to  the  Mexican 
People. 

" '  Fellow-Citizens :  We  present  to  the  civilized 
world  two  facts,  which,  while  they  will  cover  with  eter- 
nal glory  the  Federal  army  and  the  heroic  inhabitants 
of  this  capital,  will  hand  down  with  execration  and  in- 
famy, to  all  future  generations,  the  name  of  General 


68      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

Bustamente;  this  man  without  faith,  breaking  his  sol- 
emnly-pledged word,  after  being  put  at  liberty  by  an 
excess  of  generosity ;  for  having  promised  to  take  imme- 
diate steps  to  bring  about  a  negotiation  of  peace,  upon 
the  honorable  basis  which  was  proposed  to  him,  he  is 
now  converted  into  the  chief  of  an  army,  the  enemy  of 
the  Federalists;  and  has  beheld,  with  a  serene  counte- 
nance, this  beautiful  capital  destroyed,  a  multitude  of 
families  drowned  in  tears,  and  the  death  of  many  citi- 
zens ;  not  only  of  the  combatants,  but  of  those  who  have 
taken  no  part  in  the  struggle.  Amongst  these  must  be 
counted  an  unfortunate  woman  enceinte,  who  was  killed 
as  she  was  passing  the  palace  gates  under  the  belief 
that  a  parley  having  come  from  his  camp,  the  firing 
would  be  suspended,  as  in  fact  it  was  on  our  side.  This 
government,  informed  of  the  misfortune,  sent  for  the 
husband  of  the  deceased,  and  ordered  twenty-five  dol- 
lars to  be  given  him;  but  the  unfortunate  man,  though 
plunged  in  grief,  declared  that  twelve  were  sufficient  to 
supply  his  wants.  Such  was  the  horror  inspired  by 
the  atrocious  conduct  of  the  ex-government  of  Busta- 
mente, that  this  sentiment  covered  up  and  suffocated 
all  the  others. 

"  '  Another  fact,  of  which  we  shall  with  difficulty 
find  an  example  in  history,  is  the  following.  The  day 
that  the  firing  began,  being  in  want  of  some  implements 
of  war,  it  was  necessary  to  cause  an  iron  case  to  be 
opened,  belonging  to  Don  Stanislaus  Flores,  in  which 
he  had  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  different  coin, 
besides  his  most  valuable  effects.  Thus,  all  that  the 
government  could  do,  was  to  make  this  known  to  the 
owner,  Seiior  Flores,  in  order  that  he  might  send  a 
person  of  confidence  to  take  charge  of  his  interests, 
making  known  what  was  wanting,  that  he  might  be 
immediately  paid.     The  pertinacity  of  the  firing  pre- 


MADAME  CALDEROI^  DE  LA  BARCA     69 

vented  Senor  Flores  from  naming  a  commissioner  for 
four  days,  and  then,  although  the  case  has  been  open, 
and  no  one  has  taken  charge  of  it,  the  commissioner 
has  made  known  officially  that  nothing  is  taken  from 
it  but  the  implements  of  war  which  were  sent  for. 
Glory  in  yourselves,  Mexicans !  The  most  polished  na- 
tion of  the  earth,  illustrious  France,  has  not  presented 
a  similar  fact.  The  Mexicans  possess  heroic  virtues, 
which  will  raise  them  above  all  the  nations  in  the 
world.  This  is  the  only  ambition  of  your  fellow-citi- 
zen, 

"  '  Valentin   Gomez  Farias. 
"^Mexico,  July  I7th,  1840.' 

"  21st. —  After  passing  a  sleepless  night,  listening  to 
the  roaring  of  cannon,  and  fignring  to  ourselves  the 
devastation  that  must  have  taken  place,  we  find  to  our 
amusement  that  nothing  decisive  has  occurred.  The 
noise  last  night  was  mere  skirmishing,  and  half  the  can- 
nons were  fired  in  the  air.  In  the  darkness  there  was 
no  mark.  But  though  the  loss  on  either  side  is  so  much 
less  than  might  have  been  expected,  the  rebels  in  the 
palace  cannot  be  very  comfortable,  for  they  say  that 
the  air  is  infected  by  the  number  of  unburied  dead  bod- 
ies lying  there;  indeed  there  are  many  lying  unburied 
on  the  streets,  which  is  enough  to  raise  a  fever,  to  add 
to  the  calamitous  state  of  things. 

"  The  tranquillity  of  the  sovereign  people  during 
all  this  period  is  astonishing.  In  what  other  city  in 
the  world  would  they  not  have  taken  part  wnth  one  or 
other  side  ?  Shops  shut,  workmen  out  of  employment, 
thousands  of  idle  people,  subsisting,  Heaven  only  knows 
how,  yet  no  riot,  no  confusion,  apparently  no  impa- 
tience. Groups  of  people  collect  on  the  streets,  or 
stand  talking  before  their  doors,   and  speculate  upon 


TO     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

probabilities,  but  await  the  decision  of  their  military 
chiefs,  as  if  it  were  a  judgment  from  Heaven,  from 
which  it  were  both  useless  and  impious  to  appeal. 

"  This  being  Sunday,  and  a  fete-day,  a  man  was 
murdered  close  by  our  door,  in  a  quarrel  brought  about 
probably  through  the  influence  of  pulque,  or  rather  of 
chinguirite.  If  they  did  not  so  often  end  in  a  deadly 
quarrel,  there  would  be  nothing  so  amusing  as  to  watch 
the  Indians  gradually  becoming  a  little  intoxicated. 
They  are  at  first  so  polite, —  handing  the  pulque-jar  to 
their  fair  companions  (fair  being  taken  in  the  general 
or  Pickwickian  sense  of  the  word)  ;  always  taking  off 
their  hats  to  each  other,  and  if  they  meet  a  woman, 
kissing  her  hand  with  an  humble  bow  as  if  she  were  a 
duchess ;  —  but  these  same  women  are  sure  to  be  the 
cause  of  a  quarrel,  and  then  out  come  these  horrible 
knives  —  and  then,  Adios !  .  .  . 

"  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  anything  more  humble 
and  polite  than  the  common  country-people.  Men  and 
women  stop  and  wish  you  a  good  day,  the  men  holding 
their  hats  in  their  hands,  and  all  showing  their  white 
teeth,  and  faces  lighted  up  by  careless  good-nature.  I 
regret  to  state,  however,  that  to-day  there  are  a  great 
many  women  quite  as  tipsy  as  the  men,  returning  home 
after  the  fete,  and  increasing  the  distance  to  their 
village,  by  taking  a  zigzag  direction  through  the 
streets.  .  .  . 

"  Senor  Canedo,  Secretary  of  State,  has  formally  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  resigning.  Certainly  the  sit- 
uation of  premier  in  Mexico,  at  this  moment,  is  far 
from  enviable,  and  the  more  distinguished  and  clear- 
headed the  individual,  the  more  plainly  he  perceives 
the  impossibility  of  remedying  the  thickly-gathering 
evils  which  crowd  the  political  horizon,  '  Revolution,' 
says  Senor  de ,  '  has  followed  revolution  since  the 


MADAME  CALDERON  DE  LA  BAECA     Yl 

Independence,  no  stable  government  has  yet  been  estab- 
lished. Had  it  been  so,  Mexico  would  have  ottered 
to  our  eyes  a  phenomenon  unknown  until  now  in  the 
world  —  that  of  a  people,  without  previous  prepara- 
tion, passing  at  once  to  govern  themselves  by  democrat- 
ical  institutions.'  ... 

"  They,  as  well  as  every  Mexican,  whether  man  or 
woman,  not  under  forty,  have  lived  under  the  Spanish 
government ;  have  seen  the  revolution  of  Dolores  of 
1810,  with  continuations  and  variations  by  Morelos, 
and  paralyzation  in  1819 ;  the  revolution  of  Yturbide 
in  1821;  the  cry  of  Liberty  (grito  de  Libertad)  given 
by  those  generals  '  benemeritos  de  la  patria,'  Santa 
Anna  and  Victoria,  in  1822;  the  establishment  of  the 
federal  system  in  1824;  the  horrible  revolution  of  the 
Acordada,  in  which  Mexico  was  pillaged,  in  1828 ;  the 
adoption  of  the  central  system  in  1836 ;  and  the  last 
revolution  of  the  federalists  in  1840.  Another  is  pre- 
dicted for  next  month,  as  if  it  were  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun.  In  nineteen  years  three  forms  of  government  have 
been  tried,  and  two  constitutions,  the  reform  of  one  of 
which  is  still  pending  in  the  Chambers. 

"  If  any  one  wishes  to  try  the  effect  of  strong  con- 
trast, let  him  come  direct  from  the  United  States  to  this 
country;  but  it  is  in  the  villages  especially  that  the 
contrast  is  most  striking.  Traveling  in  New  England, 
for  example,  we  arrive  at  a  small  and  flourishing  village. 
We  see  four  new  churches,  proclaiming  four  different 
sects ;  religion  suited  to  all  customers.  These  wooden 
churches  or  meeting-houses  are  all  new,  all  painted 
white,  or  perhaps  a  bright  red.  Hard  by  is  a  tavern 
with  a  green  paling,  as  clean  and  as  new  as  the  churches, 
and  there  are  also  various  smart  stores  and  neat  dwell- 
ing-houses ;  all  new,  all  wooden,  all  clean,  and  all  orna- 
mented with  slight  Grecian   pillars.     The  whole   has 


72     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^B  TO-MOKROW 

a  cheerful,  trim,  and  flourishing  aspect.  Houses, 
churches,  stores,  and  taverns,  all  are  of  a  piece.  They 
are  suited  to  the  present  emergency,  whatever  that  may 
be,  though  they  will  never  make  fine  ruins.  Every- 
thing proclaims  prosperity,  equality,  consistency;  the 
past  forgotten,  the  present  all  in  all,  and  the  future  tak- 
ing care  of  itself.  No  delicate  attentions  to  posterity, 
who  can  never  pay  its  debts.  No  beggars.  If  a  man 
has  even  a  hole  in  his  coat,  he  must  be  lately  from  the 
Emerald  Isle.  .  .  . 

''  Transport  yourself  in  imagination  from  this  New 

England  village  to  that  of ,  it  matters  not  which, 

not  far  from  Mexico.  Look  on  this  picture,  and  on 
that.  The  Indian  huts,  with  their  half-naked  inmates, 
and  little  gardens  full  of  flowers ;  the  huts  themselves 
either  built  of  clay  or  the  half-ruined  beaux  restes  of 
some  stone  building.  At  a  little  distance  an  hacienda, 
like  a  deserted  palace,  built  of  solid  masonry,  with  its 
inner  patio  surrounded  by  thick  stone  pillars,  with 
great  walls  and  iron  barred  windows  that  might  stand 
a  siege.  Here  a  ruined  arch  and  cross,  so  solidly  built, 
that  one  cannot  but  wonder  how  the  stones  ever  crum- 
bled away.  There,  rising  in  the  midst  of  old  faithful- 
looking  trees,  the  church,  gray  and  ancient,  but  strong 
as  if  designed  for  eternity ;  with  its  saints  and  virgins, 
and  martyrs  and  relics,  its  gold  and  silver  and  precious 
stones,  whose  value  would  buy  up  all  the  spare  lots  in 
the  New  England  village ;  the  lepero  with  scarce  a  rag 
to  cover  him,  kneeling  on  that  marble  pavement.  Leave 
the  enclosure  of  the  church,  observe  the  stone  wall  that 
bounds  the  road  for  more  than  a  mile;  the  fruit  trees 
overtopping  it,  high  though  it  be,  with  their  loaded 
branches.  This  is  the  convent  orchard.  And  that  great 
Gothic  pile  of  building,  that  stands  in  hoary  majesty, 


MADxVME  CALDERON  DE  LA  BARCA     73 

surmounted  by  the  lofty  mountains,  whose  cloud-en- 
veloped summits,  tinged  by  the  evening  sun,  rise  behind 
it;  what  could  so  noble  a  building  be  but  the  monastery, 
perhaps  of  the  Carmelites,  because  of  its  exceeding  rich 
garden,  and  well-chosen  site,  for  they,  of  all  monks, 
are  richest  in  this  world's  goods  i  Also  we  may  see  the 
reverend  old  prior  riding  slowly  from  under  the  arched 
gate  up  the  village  lanes,  the  Indians  coming  from  their 
huts  to  do  him  lowly  reverence  as  he  passes.  Here, 
everything  reminds  us  of  the  past ;  of  the  conquering 
Spaniards,  who  seenied  to  build  for  eternity;  impress- 
ing each  work  with  their  own  solid,  grave,  and  religious 
character ;  of  the  triumphs  of  Catholicism ;  and  of  the 
Indians  when  Cortes  first  startled  them  from  their 
repose,  and  stood  before  them  like  the  fulfillment  of 
half -forgotten  prophecy.  It  is  the  present  that  seems 
like  a  dream,  a  pale  reflection  of  the  past.  All  is  de- 
caying and  growing  fainter,  and  men  seem  trusting  to 
some  unknown  future  which  they  may  never  see.  One 
government  has  been  abandoned,  and  there  is  none  in 
its  place.  One  revolution  follows  another,  yet  the 
remedy  is  not  found.  Let  them  beware  lest  half  a 
century  later,  they  be  awakened  from  their  delusion, 
and  find  the  cathedral  turned  into  a  meeting-house,  and 
all  painted  white;  the  railing  melted  down;  the  silver 
transformed  into  dollars;  the  Virgin's  jewels  sold  to 
the  highest  bidder;  the  floor  washed  (which  would  do 
it  no  harm),  and  round  the  whole,  a  nice  new  wooden 
paling,  freshly  done  in  green  —  and  all  this  performed 
by  some  of  the  artists  from  the  wide-awake  republic 
farther  north.  .  .  . 

"  Certainly  no  visible  improvement  has  taken 
place  in  their  condition  since  the  independence.  They 
are  quite  as  poor  and  quite  as  ignorant,  and  quite  as 


74     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

degraded  as  thej  were  in  1808,  and  if  they  do  raise  a 
little  grain  of  their  own,  they  are  so  hardly  taxed  that 
the  privilege  is  as  nought.  .  .  . 

"  1st  Sept. —  This  revolution  is  like  a  game  at  chess, 
in  which  kings,  castles,  knights,  and  bishops,  are  making 
different  moves,  while  the  pawns  are  looking  on  or  tak- 
ing no  part  whatever. 

^'  To  understand  the  state  of  the  board,  it  is  necessary 
to  explain  the  position  of  the  four  principal  pieces  — 
Santa  Anna,  Bustamente,  Paredes,  and  Valencia.  The 
first  move  was  made  by  Paredes,  who  published  his 
plan,  and  pronounced  on  the  eighth  of  August  at  Guada- 
lajara.    About  the  same  time,  Don  F M, ,  a 

Spanish  broker,  who  had  gone  to  Manga  de  Clavo,  was 
sent  to  Guadalajara,  and  had  a  conference  with  Pa- 
redes, the  result  of  which  was,  that  the  plan  of  that 
general  was  withdrawn,  and  it  was  supposed  that  he 
and  Santa  Anna  had  formed  a  combination.  Shortly 
after,  the  Censor  of  Vera  Cruz,  a  newspaper  entirely 
devoted  to  Santa  Anna,  pronounced  in  favor  of  the  plan 
of  Paredes,  and  Santa  Anna,  with  a  few  miserable 
troops,  and  a  handful  of  cavalry,  arrived  at  Perote. 
Here  he  remains  for  the  present,  kept  in  check  by  the 
(government)  General  Torrejon.  Meanwhile  Paredes, 
with  about  six  hundred  men,  left  Guadalajara  and 
marched  upon  Guanajuato ;  and  there  a  blow  was  given 
to  the  government  party  by  the  defection  of  General 
Cortazar,  who  thought  fit  thus  to  show  his  grateful  sense 
of  having  just  received  the  rank  of  general  of  brigade 
with  the  insignia  of  this  new  grade,  which  the  president 
put  on  with  his  own  hands.  Another  check  to  the  pres- 
ident. Once  begun,  defection  spread  rapidly,  and  Pa- 
redes and  Cortazar  having  advanced  upon  Queretaro, 
found  that  General  Juvera,  vath  his  garrison,  had  al- 
ready pronounced  there,  at  the  moment  that  they  were 


MADAME  CALDEEOI^  DE  LA  BAKCA     75 

expected  iu  Mexico  to  assist  the  government  against 
Valencia.  Paredes,  Cortazar,  and  Juvera  are  now 
united,  and  their  forces  amount  to  two  thousand  two 
hundred  men. 

"  Meanwliile  General  Valencia,  pressed  to  declare  his 
plan,  has  replied  that  he  awaits  the  announcement  of  the 
intentions  of  Generals  Paredes  and  Santa  Anna;  and, 
for  his  own  part,  only  desires  the  dismissal  of  General 
Bustamente. 

"  This,  then,  is  the  position  of  the  three  principal 
pronounced  chiefs,  on  this  second  day  of  September  of 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1841.  Santa  Anna  in  Perote, 
hesitating  whether  to  advance  or  retreat,  and,  in  fact, 
prevented  from  doing  either  by  the  vicinity  of  General 
Torrejon.  Paredes  in  Queretaro,  with  the  other  re- 
volted generals.  Valencia  in  the  citadel  of  Mexico  with 
his  pronunciados ;  while  Bustamente,  with  Generals 
Almonte  and  Canalize,  the  mark  against  which  all  these 
hostile  operations  are  directed,  is  determined,  it  is  said, 
to  fight  to  the  last. 

"  Mexico  looks  as  if  it  had  got  a  general  holiday. 
Shops  shut  up,  and  all  business  at  a  stand.  The  peo- 
ple, with  the  utmost  apathy,  are  collected  in  groups, 
talking  quietly;  the  ofiicers  are  galloping  about;  gen- 
erals, in  a  somewhat  parti-colored  dress,  with  large  gray 
hats,  striped  pantaloons,  old  coats,  and  generals'  belts, 
fine  horses,  and  crimson  color  velvet  saddles.  The  shop- 
keepers in  the  square  have  been  removing  their  goods 
and  money.  An  occasional  shot  is  heard,  and  some- 
times a  volley,  succeeded  by  a  dead  silence.  The  arch- 
bishop shows  his  reverend  face  now  and  then  upon  the 
opposite  balcony  of  his  palace,  looks  out  a  little  while, 
and  then  retires.  The  chief  effect,  so  far,  is  universal 
idleness  in  man  and  beast, —  the  soldiers  and  their  quad- 
rupeds excepted.     However,  every  turret  and  belfry  is 


76      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

covered  with  soldiers,  and  the  streets  are  blocked  up 
with  troops  and  trenches.  From  behind  these  turrets 
and  trenches  they  fire  at  each  other,  scarcely  a  soldier 
falling,  but  numbers  of  peaceful  citizens;  shells  and 
bombs  falling  through  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  and  all 
this  for  '  the  public  good.' 

"  The  war  of  July  had  at  least  a  shadow  of  pretext ; 
it  was  a  war  of  party,  and  those  who  wished  to  reestab- 
lish federalism  may  have  acted  with  good  faith.  jSTow 
there  is  neither  principle,  nor  pretext,  nor  plan,  nor 
the  shadow  of  reason  or  legality.  Disloyalty,  hypocrisy, 
and  the  most  sordid  calculation,  are  all  the  motives  that 
can  be  discovered ;  and  those  who  then  aifected  an  ardent 
desire  for  the  welfare  of  their  country  have  now  thrown 
aside  their  masks,  and  appear  in  their  true  colors ;  and 
the  great  mass  of  the  people,  who,  thus  passive  and  op- 
pressed, allow  their  quiet  homes  to  be  invaded,  are  kept 
in  awe  neither  by  the  force  of  arms,  nor  by  the  depth 
of  the  views  of  the  conspirators,  but  by  a  handful  of 
soldiers,  who  are  themselves  scarcely  aware  of  their 
own  wishes  or  intentions,  but  that  they  desire  power 
and  distinction  at  any  price. 

"  23rd. —  We  have  received  news  this  morning  of 
the  murder  of  our  porter,  the  Spaniard  whom  we  had 
brought  from  Havana.  He  had  left  us,  and  was  em- 
ployed as  porter  in  a  fabrica  (manufactory),  where  the 
wife  and  family  of  the  proprietor  resided.  Eight  of 
General  Valencia's  soldiers  sallied  forth  from  the  cita- 
del to  rob  this  factory,  and  poor  Jose,  the  most  faith- 
ful and  honest  of  servants,  having  valiantly  defended 
the  door,  was  cruelly  murdered.  They  afterwards  en- 
tered the  building,  robbed,  and  committed  dreadful  out- 
rages. They  are  selling  printed  papers  through  the 
streets  to-day,  giving  an  account  of  it.  The  men  are 
taken  up,  and  it  is  said  will  be  shot  by  orders  of  the 


MADAME  CALDERON  DE  LA  BARCA     77 

general ;  but  we  doubt  this,  even  though  a  message  has 
arrived,  requiring  the  attendance  of  the  padre  who  con- 
fosses  criminals ;  a  Franciscan  monk,  who,  with  various 
of  his  brethren,  are  living  here  for  safety  at  present. 

"  The  situation  of  Mexico  is  melancholy. 

''  24th. —  News  have  arrived  that  General  Paredes 
has  arrived  at  the  Lecheria,  an  hacienda  belonging  to 
this  family,  about  three  leagues  from  San  Xavier;  and 
that  from  thence  he  sent  one  of  the  servants  of  the  farm 
to  Mexico,  inviting  the  president  to  a  personal  confer- 
ence. The  family  take  this  news  of  their  hacienda's 
being  turned  into  military  quarters  very  philosophically ; 
the  only  precaution  on  these  occasions  being  to  conceal 
the  best  horses,  as  the  pronunciados  help  themselves, 
without  ceremony,  to  these  useful  quadrupeds,  wher- 
ever they  are  to  be  found. 

"  We  have  just  returned  after  a  sunny  walk,  and  an 
inspection  of  the  pronunciados  —  they  are  too  near  Mex- 
ico now  for  me  to  venture  to  call  them  the  rebels.  The 
infantry,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  in  a  very  ragged  and 
drunken  condition  —  the  cavalry  better,  having  bor- 
rowed fresh  horses  as  they  went  along.  Though  cer- 
tainly not  point-device  in  their  accouterments,  their 
good  horses,  high  saddles,  bronze  faces,  and  picturesque 
attire,  had  a  fine  effect  as  they  passed  along  under  the 
burning  sun.  The  sick  followed  on  asses,  and  amongst 
them  various  masculine  women,  with  sarapes  or  Mangas 
and  large  straw  hats,  tied  down  with  colored  handker- 
chiefs, mounted  on  mules  or  horses.  The  sumpter 
mules  followed,  carr^ang  provisions,  camp-beds,  etc. ; 
and  various  Indian  women  trotted  on  foot  in  the  rear, 
carrying  their  husbands'  boots  and  clothes.  There  was 
certainly  no  beauty  amongst  these  feminine  followers 
of  the  camp,  especially  amongst  the  mounted  Amazons, 
who  looked  like  very  ugly  men  in  a  semi-female  disguise. 


18     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

The  whole  partj  are  on  their  way  to  Tacubaya,  to  join 
Santa  Anna !  The  game  is  nearly  up  now.  Check 
from  two  knights  and  a  castle — from  Santa  Anna  and 
Paredes  in  Tacubaya,  and  from  Valencia  in  the  citadel. 
People  are  flying  in  all  directions,  some  from  Mexico, 
and  others  from  Guadalupe  and  Tacubaya.  .  .  . 

"  It  appears  that  Santa  Anna  was  marching  from 
Puebla,  feeling  his  way  towards  the  capital  in  fear  and 
trembling.  At  Rio  Frio  a  sentinel's  gun  having  acci- 
dentally gone  off,  the  whole  army  were  thrown  into 
the  most  ludicrous  consternation  and  confusion.  ISTear 
Oyotla  the  general's  brow  cleared  up,  for  here  he  was 
met  by  commissioners  from  the  government,  Generals 
Orbegoso  and  Gityame.  In  a  moment  the  quick  appre- 
hension of  Santa  Anna  saw  that  the  day  was  his  own. 
He  gave  orders  to  continue  the  march  with  all  speed  to 
Tacubaya,  affecting  to  listen  to  the  proposals  of  the 
conyuissioners,  amusing  them  without  compromising 
himself,  and  offering  to  treat  with  them  at  Mexical- 
singo.  They  returned  without  having  received  any  de- 
cided answer,  and  without,  on  their  part,  having  given 
any  assurance  that  his  march  should  not  be  stopped; 
yet  he  has  been  permitted  to  arrive  unmolested  at  Tacu- 
baya, where  Paredes  has  also  arrived,  and  where  he 
has  been  joined  by  General  Valencia;  so  that  the  three 
pronunciado  generals  are  now  united  there  to  disj)ose 
of  the  fate  of  the  republic.  .  .  . 

"  The  same  day  General  Almonte  had  an  interview 
with  Santa  Anna,  who  said  with  a  smile,  when  he  left 
him,  '  Es  buen  muchacho  (he  is  a  good  lad)  —  he  may 
be  of  service  to  us  yet.' 

"  The  three  allied  sovereigns  are  now  in  the  arch- 
bishop's palace  at  Tacubaya,  whence  they  are  to  dic- 
tate to  the  president  and  the  nation.  But  they  are, 
in    fact,    chiefly    occupied    with    their    respective    en- 


MADAME  CALDEROISr  DE  LA  BAECA     79 

gagements  and  respective  rights.  Paredes  wishes  to 
fullill  his  engagements  with  the  departments  of  Guan- 
juato,  Jalisco,  Zacatecas,  Agiias  Calicntes,  Queretaro, 
etc.  In  his  plan  he  promised  them  religious  toleration, 
permission  for  foreigners  to  hold  property,  and  so  on  — 
the  last,  in  fact,  being  his  favorite  project.  Valencia, 
on  his  side,  has  his  engagements  to  fulfill  with  the  fed- 
eralists, and  has  proposed  Seiior  Pedraza  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  regeneration  —  one  whose  name  will  give 
confidence  now  and  ever  to  his  party.  General  Santa 
Anna  has  engagements  with  himself.  He  has  deter- 
mined to  command  them  all,  and  allows  them  to  fight 
amongst  themselves,  provided  he  governs.  Paredes  is, 
in  fact,  furious  with  Valencia,  accusing  him  of  having 
interfered  when  not  wanted,  and  of  having  ruined  his 
plan,  bj  mingling  it  with  a  revolution,  with  which  it 
had  no  concern.  He  does  not  reflect  that  Valencia  was 
the  person  who  gave  the  mortal  wound  to  the  govern- 
ment. Had  he  not  revolted,  Santa  Anna  would  not 
have  left  Perote,  nor  Paredes  himself  passed  on  unmo- 
lested. .  .  ." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
AMERICAN  WAR  — FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

The  admission  of  Texps  to  the  American  union  in 
1844  precipitated  war  with  the  United  States.  His- 
torians seem  to  be  unanimous  that  there  was  no  just 
cause  for  war,  and  that  the  attack  on  Mexico  was  an 
act  of  oppression  on  a  weak  neighbor.  In  any  event, 
it  is  certain  that  Mexico  was  in  no  shape  for  a  foreign 
war.  "  The  condition  of  the  country  to  provide  for  its 
defense  against  foreign  attack  could  not  have  been 
worse,"  says  Verdia.  "  Unstable  governments ;  entire 
penury:  a  demoralized  and  corrupted  army,  without  or- 
ganization and  without  a  single  capable  leader:  the 
political  parties  effervescent  and  inexorable:  the  clergy 
egoistic,  and  the  public  cold."  The  American  army 
under  Zachary  Taylor  attempted  to  move  on  Mexico 
from  the  north,  but  the  plan  proved  a  failure  because 
of  the  difficulties  of  keeping  open  the  lines  of  communi- 
cation. An  expedition  was  accordingly  sent  to  Vera 
Cruz,  and  Winfield  Scott,  after  taking  the  port,  marched 
on  the  capital,  meeting  with  stout  resistance  along  the 
route.  The  fortress  of  Chapultepec  was  stormed  and 
taken,  and,  once  the  American  forces  were  in  posses- 
sion of  this  conmianding  point,  resistance  practically 
ceased.  Among  the  defenders  of  Chapultepec  were 
the  students  of  the  National  Military  Academy,  and 
their  heroic  resistance,  fighting  until  every  boy  was 
killed  or  wounded,  shines  as  brightly  to-day  as  it  did 
three  quarters  of  a  century  ago.     By  a  treaty  signed 

80 


AMERICAN"  WAE  81 

on  February  2nd,  1848,  Mexico  ceded  to  the  United 
States  Texas,  l^ew  Mexico  and  California,  received 
fifteen  million  pesos  of  indemnity,  and  was  released 
from  various  American  claims  amounting  to  three  mil- 
lion pesos. 

For  seven  years  following  the  war  with  the  United 
States  Mexico  was  ruled,  or  misruled,  under  the  dicta- 
torship, direct  or  indirect,  of  Santa  Anna.  Public 
opinion  became  so  strong  that  Santa  Anna  finally  fled 
to  Havana,  and  his  departure  was  followed  by  three 
years  of  more  or  less  chaotic  conditions,  with  three  or 
four  insurrections  and  turnovers. 

In  1858  Benito  Juarez,  President  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  came  into  the  presidency  by  succession.  His 
government  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  conservative 
party,  and  a  new  revolution  broke  out.  Most  of  the 
time  during  the  next  three  years  the  conservative  gov- 
ernment was  in  control  of  the  capital,  but  the  state  of 
its  affairs  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  to  obtain  a  loan 
of  one  million  pesos  from  a  Swiss  banking  house  it 
was  obliged  to  give  fifteen  million  pesos  in  bonds,  se- 
cured by  twenty  per  cent,  of  all  national  revenues.  The 
Juarez  government,  after  three  years  of  fighting,  finally 
overthrew  the  government  in  power.  Juarez,  who  was 
of  pure  Indian  blood,  w^as  a  lawyer  of  distinction  and 
a  man  of  constructive  ability.  He  was,  however,  sur- 
rounded by  minor  leaders  who  had  their  o\vn  interests 
at  heart  more  than  those  of  the  nation,  and  many  of 
the  reform  measures  put  through  under  a  new  consti- 
tution were  nullified  by  arbitrary  acts  of  ambitious  in- 
dividuals. The  church  and  state  were  separated,  free- 
dom of  religious  thought  gTiaranteed,  and  civil  marriage 
established.  Church  lands  were  transferred  to  the  Na- 
tion, but  in  the  confusion  of  the  time  the  best  of  them 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Darty  leaders  and  their 


82     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MOEKOW 

friends.  Juarez  had  barely  established  himself  in  the 
capital  when  another  insurrection  started,  headed  by 
three  conservative  leaders,  and  there  followed  seven 
months  of  fighting  before  the  government  was  in  full 
control  of  the  country.  Meanwhile,  the  treasury  had 
been  emptied  by  military  expenditures,  and  the  govern- 
ment issued  a  decree  suspending,  for  two  years,  pay- 
ments on  its  national  and  foreign  obligations. 

The  suspension  of  pajTiients  brought  forth  vigorous 
protests  from  England,  France  and  Spain,  and  finally 
resulted  in  negotiations  between  these  countries  for 
united  action  against  Mexico.  France's  claims  were 
entirely  commercial,  and  were  partly  stimulated  by  an 
interest  held  by  Napoleon  Ill's  minister  in  the  Swiss 
loan  made  to  the  Conservative  government.  England, 
aside  from  commercial  claims,  was  piqued  by  the  fact 
that  the  conservative  government  had  seized  600,000 
pesos  belonging  to  the  British  legation,  Spain  had  some 
commercial  claims,  and  a  claim  for  the  assassination  of 
twenty-five  Spanish  subjects,  who  had  been  attacked  by 
bandits.  Spain,  moreover,  was  irritated  by  the  fact 
that  the  Spanish  minister  had  been  given  his  passport 
as  a  persona  non  grata  because  of  his  open  support  of 
the  conservative  party.  A  convention  was  signed  in 
London  for  a  joint  expedition,  but  it  was  agreed  that 
action  should  be  confined  to  seizure  of  ports  and  other 
methods  to  secure  proper  guarantees  for  the  future.  A 
Spanish  fleet  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  on  the  29th  of  No- 
vember, 1861,  and  the  city,  having  been  evacuated  by 
the  Mexicans,  was  occupied  a  few  days  later.  On  Jan- 
uary Y,  a  combined  British  and  French  fleet  arrived,  and 
the  following  day  an  ultimatum  was  sent  to  the  Mex- 
ican government  setting  forth  the  respective  claims  and 
demands  of  the  three  governments.  There  was  no  unity 
of  action,  however.     The  British  and  Spanish  declined 


AMERICAN  WAR  83 

to  support  the  French  phm  of  establishing  a  monarchy 
in  Mexico,  and  took  little  part  in  subsequent  proceed- 
ings. JSTegotiations  with  the  Mexican  government  came 
to  nothing.  The  Mexican  representatives  at  a  con- 
ference protested,  in  vain,  that  the  various  acts  com- 
plained of  were  not  those  of  the  constituted  Mexican 
government  but  were  the  acts  of  usurpers  and  bandits, 
and  that  the  only  act  for  which  the  constituted  govern- 
ment was  responsible,  the  suspension  of  payments,  was 
due  solely  to  the  inability  of  the  government  to  pay. 
The  French  forces,  meanwhile,  had  been  greatly  in- 
creased in  number  by  the  arrival  in  March  of  a  large 
convoy,  and  the  British  and  Spanish  representatives, 
seeing  that  France  was  bent  on  seizure  of  the  country 
and  the  establishment  of  a  monarchy,  declared  the  con- 
vention signed  in  London  null  and  void,  and  refused 
to  take  any  further  part  in  the  aifair.  France,  which 
had  the  least  legitimate  claims,  was  thus  left  alone  to 
carry  out  Louis  ISTapoleon's  ambitious  plan  of  a  French- 
controlled  Mexican  empire  with  Archduke  Maximilian 
of  Austria  as  Emperor.  Negotiations  of  the  French 
with  the  Mexicans  were  of  a  perfunctory  character. 
The  French,  determined  on  a  permanent  occupation  of 
Mexico,  would  listen  to  no  proposals,  and  started  to 
advance  with  six  thousand  men  on  the  capital.  Their 
commander  had,  however,  underestimated  the  fighting 
qualities  of  the  Mexicans,  and  was  obliged,  after  some 
heavy  fighting,  to  entrench  himself  at  Orizaba  and 
await  reenforcements.  In  September  Field  Marshal 
Forey  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  with  31,000  men,  and  after 
some  monthb  of  delay  he  started,  at  the  head  of  an  army 
of  36,000  men,  for  the  capital.  The  Mexican  army 
of  20,000  men,  poorly  equipped  and  badly  provisioned, 
had  gathered  at  Puebla  to  make  a  stand  against  the  in- 
vader.    Forey  laid  siege  to  Puebla  and  entirely  cut  off 


8-i      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MORKOW 

supplies,  so  that  the  Mexicans,  after  62  days  of  siege, 
were  obliged  to  surrender.  Further  resistance  was  im- 
possible, and  the  French  army  entered  the  capital  on 
June  7,  1863,  after  Juarez  and  his  ministers  had  with- 
drawal to  San  Luis  Potosi.  The  French,  to  give  a  sem- 
blance of  legality  to  proceedings,  ordered  the  formation 
of  a  junta  of  thirty-five  Mexicans,  to  be  named  by  the 
French  minister,  the  junta  to  elect  three  Mexicans  to 
provisionally  govern  and  to  name  a  council  of  215 
members  to  establish  the  permanent  form  of  govern- 
ment. The  council  was  composed  of  conserv^atives  and 
clericals  who  were  tools  of  the  French,  and  within  a 
month  proclaimed  Mexico  to  be  a  constitutional  and 
hereditary  monarchy,  with  a  Catholic  monarch  with  the 
title  of  Emperor,  the  latter  to  be  Maximilian,  or,  in  the 
event  of  his  declining,  to  be  some  one  named  by  ISTapo- 
leon  III.  In  pursuance  of  this  program  Maximilian 
was  named  Emperor,  accepted  the  position  and  came  to 
Mexico  with  the  Empress  Carlotta,  arriving  at  the  cap- 
ital on  June  12,  1864. 

The  French  invasion  did  not  have  the  support  of 
England  or  Spain.  The  United  States  made  emphatic 
protest,  but  the  American  government,  then  occupied 
with  a  civil  war,  was  in  no  position  to  back  up  its  posi- 
tion. The  French  public  took  little  interest.  Maxi- 
milian, left  largely  to  rule  the  country  as  he  pleased, 
plunged  the  government  into  heavy  debts,  partly  through 
court  extravagance,  partly  through  recognition  of  French 
claims  and  partly  through  heavy  military  expenditures. 
The  French  claims  recognized  totaled  173.000,000 
pesos,  including  23,000,000  for  transport  of  troops, 
74,000,000  for  war  expenses,  9,000,000  for  foreign 
legion  expenses,  18,000,000  for  the  use  of  the  French 
army,  15,000,000  to  cover  the  Swiss  loan,  15,000,000 
for  miscellaneous  claims,  and  19,000,000  for  interest  — 


AMEKICAN  WAK  85 

and  all  this  agaiust  a  country  whose  bankruptcy  pre- 
cipitated the  war!  The  emperor  received  a  salary  of 
a  million  pesos  a  year,  an  annual  grant  of  two  hundred 
thousand  was  made  to  the  Empress,  and  a  brilliant  court 
was  maintained  at  great  expense.  The  great  extrava- 
gance aroused  much  ill-feeling  among  the  Mexicans  and 
in  a  large  measure  alienated  the  support  of  the  conserva- 
tives, who  had  at  first  given  hearty  support  to  the  em- 
pire. It  inspired  the  republicans  to  continuous  effort 
to  drive  out  the  invaders,  and  Maximilian  had  hardly 
arrived  in  Mexico  before  he  was  confronted  with  formi- 
dable fighting  in  three  or  four  sections  of  the  country. 
He  was,  in  consequence,  obliged  to  maintain  an  army 
of  63,000  men,  28,000  of  them  French,  6,000  Aus- 
trian Volunteers,  1,300  Belgians  and  the  balance  Mex- 
ican conservatives  and  imperialists.  Harsh  measures 
were  resorted  to  in  the  hope  of  stifling  the  revolutionary 
movement,  a  decree  being  signed  in  October,  1865,  pro- 
viding the  death  penalty  for  any  prisoners  taken  in 
action  against  the  government.  Large  bodies  of  troops 
were  sent  jSTorth,  South  and  West  to  crush  republican 
leaders  and  their  troops.  The  situation  was  compli- 
cated by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  republican  troops 
were  undisciplined  and  in  several  cases  led  by  men  who 
were  bandits  first  and  patriots  second,  resulting  in  the 
commission  of  serious  excesses  which,  in  turn,  justified 
drastic  measures.  Reprisals  followed  reprisals  until 
the  war  became  one  of  extermination.  Towns  and  plan- 
tations were  burned  by  the  imperialists,  civilians  sus- 
pected of  republican  sympathies  were  shot,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, a  ruthless  campaign  was  waged  to  stamp  out  every 
republican  tendency.  On  the  other  hand,  the  republi- 
can forces,  frequently  only  large  bands  of  guerillas, 
lived  for  the  most  part  by  pillage  and  plunder,  wreak- 
ing vengeance  on  any  one  who  opposed  their  operations. 


86     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

Meanwhile  Juarez,  at  Paso  del  JSTorte,  maintained  the 
nucleus  of  a  government,  exercised,  so  far  as  possible, 
a  control  over  the  various  leaders,  and  endeavored  to 
push  something  like  a  military  campaign. 

In  1864  the  Empire  borrowed,  in  London  and  Paris, 
forty  million  dollars,  the  loan  being  at  6  per  cent,  but 
being  sold  to  the  financial  houses  at  37  per  cent,  dis- 
count, the  annual  charge  therefore  being  practically 
ten  per  cent.  In  the  year  following  fifty  million  dol- 
lars of  6  per  cent,  bonds  were  sold  in  Paris  at  32  per 
cent,  discount,  calling  for  practically  9  per  cent,  inter- 
est. In  each  case  a  portion  or  all  of  the  interest  was 
discounted,  and  a  large  part  of  the  proceeds  was  used 
to  satisfy  outstanding  French  claims,  so  that  the  gov- 
ernment finally  realized  less  than  five  million  dollars 
in  cash  from  the  financing.  The  loans  had  hardly  been 
concluded  before  the  government  was  again  in  difficul- 
ties. 

The  government's  troubles  were  now  increased  by 
events  abroad.  The  United  States,  in  December,  1865, 
made  an  energetic  protest  to  France  against  the 
interv^entiou  in  Mexico.  A  few  months  later  Prussia's 
victory  over  Austria  created  a  new  menace  for  France. 
In  view  of  the  possibility  of  trouble  with  the  United 
States,  and  to  better  prepare  France  against  pos- 
sible attack  by  Prussia,  Xapoleon  decided  to  abandon 
the  Mexican  Empire  to  its  own  fate,  and  announced 
that  the  French  troops  would  be  withdra\\ai  in  1867. 
Before  this  was  known  in  Mexico  the  republican  forces 
had  been  making  much  headway  and  had,  at  several 
points,  won  important  victories  in  battles  with  the  im- 
perialist troops.  The  news  that  the  French  troops  would 
be  withdra-^vn  gave  them  more  confidence  and  stimulated 
them  to  further  efforts,  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  greatly 
discouraged  the  Mexican  leaders  and  troops  who  had 


AMEEICAF  WAR  8Y 

joined  the  imperialist  cause.  Maximilian  felt  the  hope- 
lessness of  victory  without  European  support,  lie  was 
inclined  to  abdicate,  but  the  decision  of  a  council  of 
friends  and  ministers  was  against  such  a  course.  Fight- 
ing continued  throughout  the  country,  with  the  odds 
generally  in  favor  of  the  Republican  forces.  Maxi- 
milian organized  his  army  into  three  units  or  armies, 
the  Northern,  Central  and  Eastern,  and  attempted  to 
push  a  swift  campaign  to  end  the  revolution,  but  all  in 
vain.  In  the  fall  of  1866  defeat  followed  defeat.  The 
Republican  cause,  in  spite  of  lack  of  money  or  dis- 
ciplined forces,  kept  gaining  headway.  Colima  and  the 
surrounding  country  fell  into  Republican  hands,  Guada- 
lajara followed,  and  General  Porfirio  Diaz  defeated 
imperial  forces  and  occupied  Oaxaca.  Again  Maxi- 
milian thought  of  abdication,  but,  with  the  indecision 
characteristic  in  all  his  acts,  decided  to  leave  the  matter 
to  a  council  of  leading  imperialists.  The  council,  com- 
posed of  35  men,  met  on  January  17,  1867,  and  voted, 
27  to  8,  against  abdication.  Republican  victories  con- 
tinued, Zacatecas,  San  Luis  and  Guanajuato  falling  by 
the  end  of  the  month.  Maximilian  left  the  capital  for 
Queretaro  to  be  in  the  center  of  military  operations, 
and  attempted,  too  late,  to  prevent  the  union  of  the  Re- 
publican armies  of  the  Xorth  and  West.  By  the  middle 
of  March  Queretaro  was  surrounded  by  the  Republican 
forces  numbering  nearly  30,000  men.  Marquez,  one 
of  Maximilian's  generals,  was  sent  to  Mexico  to  bring 
the  garrison  of  the  capital  to  Queretaro  in  a  desperate 
effort  to  break  through  the  lines,  but,  instead  of  follow- 
ing instructions,  he  took  the  available  forces  and  at- 
tempted, with  them,  to  raise  the  siege  of  Puebla  by 
General  Diaz.  The  latter,  learning  of  Marquez'  inten- 
tion, made  a  brilliant  assault,  carried  the  city  and  then 
turned  his  victorious  army  on  Marquez,  who,  having 


88     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

learned  of  Puebla's  fall,  had  started  back  for  the  cap- 
ital. On  April  12  the  siege  of  Mexico  City  by  the  Re- 
publican forces  under  Diaz  was  begun,  and  all  hope  of 
relief  for  Maximilian  from  this  quarter  ended.  The 
besieged  at  Queretaro  made  several  unsuccessful  efforts 
to  fight  their  way  out,  and,  cut  off  from  supplies,  their 
situation  grew  desperate.  On  May  16  Maximilian 
surrendered,  and,  on  delivering  his  sword,  requested 
that  his  family  be  allowed  to  embark  for  Europe.  He 
made  a  plea  for  his  generals  and  leaders,  saying  that 
they  had  merely  been  following  his  orders  and  fortunes, 
and  that  he  wished  to  be  the  only  victim  of  the  catas- 
trophe. The  Republican  leaders  called  a  court  martial, 
under  a  law  passed  in  1862  providing  the  death  penalty 
for  all  enemies  of  the  Republic,  and  the  court,  meeting 
on  June  14,  condemned  to  death  Maximilian  and  his 
two  generals,  Miramon  and  Mejia.  In  spite  of  the  ef- 
forts of  friends,  of  protests  from  representatives  of 
other  governments  and  of  an  appeal  from  the  United 
States,  the  condemned  men  were  shot  on  June  19,  1867, 
at  Cerro  de  Las  Campanas,  near  Queretaro.  Maxi- 
milian's dream  of  a  great  Mexican  empire  was  ended. 
Mexico  City  capitulated  on  June  20,  and  Vera  Cruz 
eight  days  later.  The  war  had  been  a  bloody  one,  with 
losses  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  of  73,037  for 
the  Republican  forces  and  12,209  for  the  Mexican  Im- 
perialists, while  the  French  lost,  in  killed,  nearly  25,000 
men. 

Juarez  reentered  the  capital  on  July  15,  1867.  The 
country,  after  three  years  of  revolution,  was  in  a  de- 
plorable condition.  Business  was  at  a  standstill,  and 
the  government  had  much  difficulty  in  collecting  taxes. 
The  army,  which  had  grown  to  large  proportions,  was 
now  cut  down  to  20,000  men,  and  other  measures  were 
taken  to  bring  down  expenses.     Some  of  the  military 


AMEEICAI^  WAK  89 

leaders  were  disaffected,  and  the  Juarez  government 
was  liardly  reestablished  before  new  revolts  began  to 
appear.  Early  in  1868  there  was  an  uprising  in  Yuca- 
tan and  another  in  Sinaloa,  and  General  Negrete  "  pro- 
nounced "  and  seized  Puebla.  Other  generals,  in  1869, 
revolted  San  Luis  Potosi  and  Zacatecas,  and,  obtaining 
a  considerable  following,  soon  had  Central  Mexico  in 
an  uproar.  Another  military  leader,  once  defeated  in 
Sinaloa,  appeared  suddenly  at  the  port  of  Guaymas  in 
a  chartered  boat  carrying  120  men,  seized  the  town  and 
captured  5,000  rifles  and  80,000  pesos  and  made  good 
his  escape,  only  to  have  his  boat  sunk  later.  In  May, 
1871,  the  military  "  pronounced  "  in  Tampico,  and  held 
the  town  twenty  days  against  the  government  forces 
sent  to  put  down  the  incipient  insurrection.  While  the 
various  uprisings  were,  in  each  case,  put  down,  there 
was  sufficient  disorder  to  cause  dissatisfaction,  and  to 
furnish  an  excuse  for  ambitious  military  leaders  to 
declare  for  some  new  change.  Juarez  was  reelected 
President  in  the  Fall  of  1871,  and  almost  immediately 
the  validity  of  the  election  was  attacked  by  a  group  of 
military  leaders  who  proposed  the  "  plan  de  Noria  "  for 
the  suspension  of  constitutional  order  and  the  calling 
of  a  junta  or  commission  to  reorganize  the  country. 
The  Juarez  forces,  after  two  or  three  engagements,  put 
down  opposition,  and  the  country  entered  on  a  brief 
period  of  much  needed  peace.  Juarez  was  making 
good  progress  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  government  and 
the  development  of  the  country  when  he  was  stricken 
by  heart  trouble,  dying  on  the  18th  of  July,  1872. 
Juarez,  while  not  a  great  man,  was  a  thorough  patriot 
and  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  country,  giving  it  the 
first  taste  of  a  government  not  dominated  by  selfish  and 
personal  motives.  His  death  was  deeply  mourned  by 
the  people,  and  his  name  has  gone  down  in  Mexican 


90     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

history  as  the  father  of  constitutional  government  of  the 
country. 

Juarez  was  succeeded  by  Sebastian  Lerdo,  President 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  continued  the  policy  of 
Juarez  and  enforced  the  provisions  of  the  constitution 
covering  a  separation  of  church  and  state  and  prohibit- 
ing religious  orders  from  acquiring  lands.  During 
Lerdo's  regime  Lozada,  an  Indian  bandit  from  Tepic, 
led  a  force  of  eight  thousand  men  to  attack  Guadala- 
jara. He  was  defeated  by  government  forces,  captured 
and  executed,  and  the  country,  for  some  time,  lived  in 
peace.  Lerdo  was  a  candidate  for  reelection,  and  was 
declared  the  winner  in  an  election  which  was  generally 
known  to  have  been  fraudulent.  Opposition  to  his  re- 
election was  led  by  Porfirio  Diaz,  who,  taking  advan- 
tage of  a  denouncement  by  the  President  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  illegality  of  the  proceedings,  seized  the 
reins  of  government  on  November  26,  1876.  In  May 
following  General  Diaz  was  duly  elected  president,  for 
the  term  ending  in  November,  1880,  and  on  a  platform 
opposing  reelection.  In  accordance  with  this  platform. 
General  Diaz  was  not  a  candidate  for  reelection  in  1880, 
Manuel  Gonzalez  occupying  the  chair  for  four  years, 
but  his  rule  of  Mexico  was  practicallv  continuous  from 
1876  until  1911. 


CHAPTER  IX 
POKFIKIO  DIAZ 

So  miicli  has  been  written  of  this  remarkable  man 
that  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  more  in  these  pages 
than  a  bare  outline  of  his  character  and  motives.  To 
the  foreigner  he  has  been  pictured  as  the  gTeatest  man 
produced  by  Latin  America ;  to  the  Mexican  he  was, 
for  a  third  of  a  century,  a  symbol  of  power;  to  the 
sociologist  he  appears  as  a  despot.  He  has  been  lauded 
as  few  other  rulers  ever  have  been,  and  he  has,  during 
the  past  seven  years,  been  as  cordially  abused.  Born 
of  Indian  parents  and  of  pure  Indian  blood,  his  origin 
was  most  modest ;  from  young  manhood  to  old  age  he 
was  an  aristocrat  par  excellence.  He  received  a  mili- 
tary training,  and  his  rule,  through  many  years,  was  a 
rule  based  on  military  strength.  (^A  man  bom  of  the 
people,  he  had  contempt  for  the  people ;  knowing  his 
own  people,  he  built  up  for  them  a  paternal  form  of 
government  which  fell  of  its  own  weight;  a  great  man 
in  force,  in  decision,  in  organization,  he  fell  short  of 
greatness  in  his  failure  to  recognize  the  inherent  weak- 
ness of  the  system  he  developed ;  a  statesman  in  foreign 
relations,  he  failed  to  even  start  his  own  country  on 
soimd  political  lines  of  thought j/ honest, (^he  failed  to 
realize  or  to  stop  the  abuses  of  his  own  supporters ;  a, 
patriot  in  desiring  the  development  of  the  riches  of  the 
country,  he  failed  to  realize  that  no  development  can 
be  real  where  the  mass  of  people  fail  to  move  forward 
in  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  in  brief, 

91 


92     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

his  greatness  was  that  of  a  military  leader,   and  his 
policy  that  of  a  feudal  lord^- 

The  subsequent  political  upheaval  was  so  directly  due 
to  conditions  prevailing  in  Mexico  that  it  is  necessary 
to  make  some  detailed  analysis  of  the  course  of  events 
during  General  Diaz'  regime.  Diaz  was  a  born  leader, 
and  his  fii-st  experience  was  with  wild  and  undisciplined 
troops.  Everything  in  his  military  career  tended  to 
make  him  think  in  units  of  force  rather  than  to  consider 
the  individual.  .The  country,  when  he  came  into  power, 
was  suffering  from  the  effects  of  years  of  misrule  by 
unscrupulous  dictators  and  from  a  four  years'  war  to 
throw  out  a  foreign  invader.  The  government  was 
bankrupt,  there  was  no  business,'  plantations  had  been 
ruined  during  the  civil  strife  following  the  empire,\j)eo- 
ple  were  starving,  and  leaders  and  troops  were  apt, 
at  any  moment,  to  start  new  troubles. '  N'othing  but 
forceful,  drastic  and  quick  action  would  convince  every 
one  that  further  upheavals  would  not  be  permitted. 
At  the  first  sign  of  any  revolt,  therefore,  there  was  swift 
vengeance  —  so  swift  and  ruthless  that  an  indelible 
memory  of  it  was  left  in  the  neighborhood.  The  coun- 
try was  full  of  bandits,  who,  roaming  in  small  bands, 
had  been  able  to  dodge  half  hearted  troops  and  to  loot 
at  pleasure.  A  war  of  extermination  was  begun  on  the 
bandits,  and,  after  it  had  been  carried  far  enough  to 
satisfy  them  that,  sooner  or  later,  they  would  all  be 
lined  up  and  shot,  their  leaders  were  given  a  chance  to 
enroll,  with  their  men,  in  a  well  paid  and  well  dis- 
ciplined rural  police  force  to  keep  the  country  districts 
safe  —  with  the  stone  wall  and  firing  squad  as  an  op- 
tion. They  enrolled  —  and,  from  this  beginning  there 
developed  a  magnificent  force,  the  "  rurales,"  which, 
for  riding  and  fighting  qualities,  has  not  often  been 
excelled.     Force,   more   force,   ruthless   force,   sudden 


PORFIRIO  DIAZ  93 

annihilation  —  these  soon  began  to  whip  the  country 
into  shape.   _  . 

Diaz,  knowing  the  incapacity  of  the  average  Indian 
for  self-government,  devised  a  political  system  well 
suited,  theoretically,  for  the  needs  of  the  people.  Each 
community  had  a  jefe  politico,  or  political  chief,  re- 
sponsible to  the  state  governor.  The  jefe  was,  prac- 
tically, ''  the  whole  works  "  in  his  district.  He  gave 
the  Indians  advice,  helped  settle  their  disputes,  col- 
lected the  taxes,  and  was,  in  many  respects,  what  the 
tribal  chiefs  had  formerly  been,  with  the  important 
distinction  that  the  tribes  or  communities  had  no  voice 
in  his  selection.  The  plan,  in  its  inception,  was  not 
vicious,  and  was,  in  many  ways,  well  suited  to  the  com- 
munities. A  good  political  jefe  was  almost  a  father 
to  the  peon,iwho,  with  his  childlike  nature,  wants  some 
one  to  take  his  troubles  to.  To  carry  out  a  general 
scheme  of  reorganization  it  was  essential  to  have  no  op- 
position in  congress,  and,  in  the  selection  of  candidates, 
the  jefe  politico  was  particularly  useful  to  the  govern- 
ment, as  he  was  always  in  a  position  to  say  how  many 
votes  had  been  cast  for  the  government  candidate  in 
his  district.  Under  this  system  elections  were  mani- 
festly a  farce  —  if,  indeed,  anything  like  an  election 
was  attempted.  Ballot-box  stuffing  was  unnecessary 
because  the  polling  booth  was  usually  at  the  jefatura  — 
the  jefe's  office  —  and  no  one  voted  unless  asked  to  do 
so.  In  view  of  the  ignorance  of  the  people  these  strong- 
arm  methods,  considered  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  gov- 
ernment, were  fully  justified. 

The  next  great  move  was  to  get  some  industrial  de- 
velopment. Nothing  much  could  be  done  without  rail- 
roads, which,  moreover,  would  be  useful  for  military 
operations  in  case  of  trouble.  A  railway  had  been  built 
to  Puebla  in  1869,  and  the  line  to  Vera  Cruz  opened 


94     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

three  years  later.  The  government,  anxious  to  cover 
the  country  with  a  network  of  roads,  was  confronted 
with  a  big  problem.  There  was  no  capital  in  the  coun- 
try for  the  work,  and  foreign  capital,  looking  over  the 
years  of  political  troubles  in  Mexico,  was  timid.  The 
government  did  not  own  great  stretches  of  land  which 
it  could  offer  as  compensation  for  the  financial  risk, 
and  it  was  obliged,  to  interest  capital,  to  make  very 
liberal  concessions,  grant  high  tariffs  and  exemptions 
from  taxes.  Even  these  inducements  were  insuttlcient, 
and  resort  had  to  be  had  to  heavy  subsidies,  guaranteed, 
in  most  cases,  by  a  portion  of  custom  house  revenues. 
We  are  apt,  in  looking  back  half  a  century,  to  judge 
events  by  present  day  standards,  and  to  ignore  condi- 
tions as  then  existing.  American  politicians  set  up  a 
hue  and  cry  over  the  great  "  steal  "  of  the  railroads  in 
the  land  grants  given  them  to  build  Western  roads  — 
grants  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  had  no  tangible  value 
and  only  a  small  potential  value  even  with  the  develop- 
ment of  transportation.  In  the  early  fifties  a  private 
company  undertook  the  construction  of  canal  and  locks 
on  the  St.  Mary's  River  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Michigan, 
and,  not  having  the  funds  to  complete  the  work,  ap- 
pealed to  the  state  for  aid.  Michigan  was  money  poor 
and  land  rich,  and  responded,  not  with  cash,  but  with 
a  vast  grant  of  land.  Certain  mineral  lands  included 
in  the  grant  now  yield  the  canal  company  an  annual 
income  equal  to  the  total  amount  of  the  subsidy  asked, 
—  and  the  arrangement  has  been  called  a  "  steal."  So 
with  many  of  the  early  Mexican  concessions.  MVitli 
need  for  development,  with  no  credit,  the  government 
made  the  best  bargains  it  could.  Little  by  little  rail- 
ways began  to  push  out  from  the  capital,  North,  South 
and  West.  With  the  opening  of  railways  other  indus- 
try became  possible,] but  in  its  efforts  to  foster  new  lines 


PGRFIRIO  DIAZ  95 

of  economic  activity  the  government  often  went  too  far. 
Cotton  was  produced  throughout  the  coimtry  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  and  to  increase  this  production  and 
stimulate  manufacturing,  liberal  concessions  were  given 
under  guarantees  to  put  prohibitive  duties  on  imported 
manufactured  cotton.  The  net  result  of  some  of  these 
concessions  was  to  develop  an  artificial  industry,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  to  greatly  increase  the  cost  to  the  con- 
simier.  Cotton  goods,  used  by  all  the  people,  cost  dou- 
ble their  former  price,  and,  while  cotton  planters  and 
spinners  reaped  some  benefits,  the  loss  was  gTcater  than 
the  gain. 

-  In  spite  of  mistakes,  Mexico  slowly  but  surely  pressed 
forward.  It  was  not  all  easy  going.  The  people, 
crushed  under  slavery  for  centuries,  lacked  initiative. 
There  was  no  considerable  amount  of  native  capital. 
The  railroad  problem,  with  a  small  trafiic  in  sparsely 
settled  regions,  was  not  an  easy  one,  more  frequently 
yielding  deficits  than  profits.  But  Mexico  is  rich  in 
the  products  of  the  soil,  and,  given  peace,  cannot  fail 
to  prosper  even  under  adverse  conditions.  Xew  min- 
ing districts  opened  up  along  the  railways,  and  old  dis- 
tricts, abandoned  for  lack  of  rich  ores,  became,  under 
the  stimulus  of  transportation,  large  shippers  of  low 
grade  ores.  Agricultural  activity  became  greater,  and 
new  factories  opened.  All  this  meant  more  work,  more 
money  in  circulation,  and  increased  government  reve- 
nues. Gradually  the  economic  situation  became  more 
stable,  and  with  this  stability  there  was  a  steady  im- 
provement in  the  strength  of  the  government.  In  the 
first  fifty  years  of  independence  there  had  never  been 
such  a  thing  as  national  credit.  The  foreign  loans  and 
credits  obtained  by  Maximilian  were  based  rather  on 
French  than  Mexican  support,  and  these  credits,  on 
the  downfall  of  the  Empire,  became  a  burden  rather 


96     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

than  a  help.  The  first  ten  years  of  Diaz'  rule  were, 
therefore,  accompanied  by  continuous  difficulty  in  at- 
tempting to  place  the  government  on  a  sound  financial 
basis.  (Some  money  had  been  obtained  in  England,  and 
there  were  certain  English  debts  in  connection  with  the 
various  railway  giiarantees.  There  were,  also,  a  large 
amount  of  French  claims  pressing.  Due  to  the  general 
improvement  in  the  situation  the  government  was  able, 
in  1887,  to  fioat,  in  Berlin,  a  loan  of  somewhat  more 
than  fifty  million  dollars,  half  of  which  was  used  to 
reduce  British  and  French  claims  and  the  balance  for 
domestic  needs  and  government  expenses.  From  this 
time  forward  there  was  comparatively  little  difficulty 
in  financing.  The  Banco  Nacional,  established  in  1882 
by  a  combination  of  French,  Spanish  and  government 
capital,  had  grown  to  be  a  strong  institution  and  was 
able  to  take  care  of  the  currency  needs  of  the  nation 
under  a  concession  (similar  to  the  provisions  of  the 
Federal  Reserve  Banking  Act)  which  permitted  it  to 
issue  its  notes  against  fifty  per  cent,  cash  reserves  and 
fifty  per  cent,  commercial  paper  discounted  for  other 
banks.  Various  state  banks  also  issued  notes  under 
state  concessions.  The  value  of  the  peso,  fixed  at  49.6 
cents,  was  stable,  the  banks  prospered,  and  by  1893 
government  credit  was  well  established  both  at  home 
and  abroad. _j 

During  this  time  necessary  changes  were  made  in 
the  laws  to  permit  the  reelection  of  the  president.  In 
1882  the  constitution  had  been  changed  to  provide  for 
succession  of  the  presidency  to  the  president  of  the  sen- 
ate instead  of  the  president  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
this  was  now  changed  to  have  the  presidency  pass,  in 
case  of  death  or  disability,  to  a  member  of  the  cabinet, 
in  a  certain  order  of  priority.  The  government  was 
well  settled,  and  hereafter  was  to  be  a  close  corporation. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  CIENTLFICOS 

/  Up  to  this  point  there  seems  to  have  been  little  rea- 
fson  to  find  fault  with  the  Diaz  government,  and  much 
'Xeason  to  praise  it.  During  Gonzalez'  terms  as  Pres- 
ident some  of  the  people  in  the  administration  acquired 
either  a  direct  or  speculative  interest  in  a  large  amount 
of  English  owned  Mexican  bonds,  then  selling  at  a 
fraction  of  their  par  value,  and  the  administration 
attempted,  unsuccessfully,  to  force  through  legislation 
which  was  designed  to  secure  redemption  of  the  bonds 
at  par.  As  the  Gonzalez  government  was,  in  personnel, 
composed  largely  of  Diaz  adherents,  this  could,  in  a 
measure,  be  counted  against  Diaz.  There  were  minor 
claims  of  abuses,  particularly  regarding  land  questions. 
On  the  whole,  however,  there  was  Jittle  criticism. 
Every  one  recognized,  moreover,  that  i'Mexico,  for  the 
first  time  since  its  independence  was  declared,  had  a 
stable  government,  and  that  national  credit  and  finance 
were  in  fair  or  even  good  shape.  Brigandage  had  been 
exterminated.  Foreign  capital  was  beginning  to  seek 
a  field  in  Mexico.  Diaz  was  a  dictator,  but  there  was 
no  indication  that  he  was  greatly  enriching  himself  by 
abuse  of  his  power. 

Just  when  a  change  began  to  be  felt  "is  uncertain. 
Whether  there  was  any  change  in  policy  is  also  uncer- 
tain, and  it  seems  more  likely  that  the  change,  such  as 
it  was,  was  gradual,  and  that  perhaps,  or  even  probably, 
those  in  power  were  not  conscious  of  any  change.     The 

97 


98     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:N'D  TO-MOEROW 

goverimient,  nominally  of  a  democratic  character,  was 
really  an  oligarchy,  self  perpetuating,  legalized  by  a 
constitution,  supported  by  a  congress.  It  was  rather 
a  system  than  a  political  organization.  It  was  in  no 
sense  the  product  of  party  politics,  for  politics,  as  such, 
barely  existed.  It  was  a  big  machine,  controlled  by 
one  strong  man,  who,  with  a  few  friends  and  advisers, 
proposed  to  attend  to  the  administration  and  politics 
of  the  whole  country.  The  machine  had  some  big 
wheels  in  the  various  government  departments,  army, 
public  works,  industries,  interior,  and  the  like.  Con- 
gress was  a  side  machine  whose  chief  function  was  to 
put  ever^i;hing  in  legal  form.  In  each  state  was  a  ma- 
chine, with  a  governor  and  a  legislature,  and  working 
as  part  of  the  state  machine  were  the  jefe  politicos,  or 
local  chiefs.  It  was  "  boss  rule"  of  a, highly  scientific 
type,  and  had  a  great  advantage  over  American  "  boss 
rule  "  in  that  there  was  no  opposition.  In  fact,  opposi- 
tion was  not  wanted,  and  if  any  signs  of  it  developed 
as  much  of  the  machine  as  necessary  was  set  to  work 
I  to  grind  it  out  of  existence. 

It  has  frequently  been  said  that  the  rule  of  Diaz  was 
really  the  rule  of  the  rich  class,  but  this  was  hardly 
the  case.  In  Mexico  the  rich  class  had  not  often  been 
active  in  government  matters.  It  had  been  more  than 
willing  to  be  left  alone.  It  had  wanted  a  government 
which  would  preserve  order,  be  lenient  as  to  taxes,  and 
keep  the  native  Indian  in  his  proper  position.  Diaz 
ruled  with  an  iron  hand,  and  the  rich  class  gave  him 
such  moral  support  as  he  wanted.  The  Government 
was  not,  however,  one  organized  by  the  rich  element, 
but  rather  one  which  that  element  was  glad  to  support. 
Directly  thisv  class  (excepting  a  few  immediately  asso- 
ciated with  the  government)  took  no  interest  in  public 
affairs.     It  paid  its  taxes  and  encouraged  the  church 


THE  CIEKTIFICOS  99 

to  support  the  government,  and  in  return  enjoyed  pub- 
lic order  and  received  support  —  rurales  or  troops  wlien 
necessary.  In  the  end  it  amounted  to  almost  the  same 
thing  as  if  the  rich  class  had  been  the  government  it- 
self. The  rich  class  could  not  get  along  without  a 
strong  power  in  control,  while  the  government,  receiv- 
ing revenues  and  support  from  that  class,  could  afiord 
to  be  very  "  easy  "  with  it.  The  two,  therefore,  came 
to  be  hand-in-glove.)  The  only  reason  for  making  this 
distinction  and  relationship  clear  is  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that,  had  the  government  been  one  actively  partici- 
pated in  by  the  rich  class,  it  would  doubtless  have  been 
careful  not  to  let  abuses  become  so  grave  as  to  threaten 
its  existence.  The  situation  has  had  many  parallels 
in  American  politics  in  cases  where  corrupt  boss  or 
party  machines  have  been  built  up,  not  by  or  even  with 
the  connivance  of  the  wealthy  class  but  rather  because 
of  the  indolence  and  indifference  of  that  class,  which, 
in  paying  for  a  certain  amount  of  protection,  has  only 
paved  the  way  for  further  excesses  and  abuses  of  power. 
'  The  Diaz  government  doubtless  never  deliberately 
started  out  to  abuse  its  power.  Diaz  was  a  born  leader 
who  soon  found  that  with  a  few  able  men  with  him 
he  could  absolutely  dominate  the  country.  '  He  loved 
power  for  power's  sake,  and  proceeded  to  build  up  a 
machine  that  would  run  the  government  —  and  keep 
him  in  power.  Then  some  one  discovered  that  the 
machine,  while  grinding  out  government  business,  could 
grind  personal  axes  as  well.  More  axes  were  brought 
in  by  others  in  the  circle,  and  now  and  then  some  friend 
had  an  ax  to  grind,  so  that  before  long  the  machine  was 
doing  a  lot  of  work  for  which  it  was  not  designed,' 
^  The  "  Cientificos  "  (scientists  from  the  "  scientific  " 
scheme  of  government),  were  those  who  were  in  the 
inner  circle  or  who,   acting  with  government  people, 


100      ]\rEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

derived  benefit  from  various  government  legislation, 
public  works,  concessions,  contracts,  etc.  The  real 
'''  Cientitico  "  group  was  quite  small  and  was  composed 
of  men  who  handled  government  contracts,  certain 
bankers,  a  few  large  landow^iers,  and  a  number  of  men 
in  active  politics.  Properly  speaking,  there  were  prob- 
ably not  over  fifty  "  Cientiticos  '' —  a  close  political- 
financial  ring  which  had,  however,  extensive  ramifica- 
tions.) The  revolutionary  party,  since  it  came  in  power, 
has,  in  a  vague  way,  extended  the  term  to  apply  to  many 
who  were  not  properly  in  the  ring.  In  other  words, 
many  who  inherited  wealth  or  who  indirectly  derived 
benefit  from  the  prevailing  conditions  have  been  cred- 
ited with  being  "  Cientificos "  when,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  they  took  no  interest  whatever  in  political  matters 
and  had  no  hand  in  the  deals  put  through.  In  the  eyes 
of  many  of  those  identified  with  the  revolutionary  party 
the  mere  possession  of  wealth  was  evidence  of  guilty 
participation  in  the  corruption  of  politics.  There  were, 
as  pointed  out  before,  a  large  number  of  landowners  who 
acquiesced  in  the  government's  methods  of  doing  busi- 
ness, and  gave  it  moral  support,  receiving,  in  return, 
"  protection  "  of  one  sort  or  another.  Many  of  these 
derived  much  direct  or  indirect  benefit  under  the  gen- 
eral political  scheme,  but  they  were  not  in  most  cases 
in  any  way  responsible  for  the  conditions. 

'  Another  class  which  derived  certain  benefits  under  the 
system  were  the  salaried  employees  of  the  government.^ 
Many  of  these  men  were  conscientious  and  efiicient  pub- 
lic servants  who  received  only  moderate  pay,  and  whose 
interest  consisted,  aside  from  the  direct  question  of  pay, 
in  holding  responsible  and  permanent  positions.  While 
it  is  true  that  some  government  officials  used  their  posi- 
tions to  enrich  themselves,  there  were  many  who  were 
above  any  suspicion  in  all  their  dealings.  )  Contrary  to 


THE  CIENTIFICOS  ;       101 

the  prevailing  general  impression,  there  was  lit  le  graft 
in  public  otfices.  Public  utility  corporations,  for  in- 
stance, rarely  had  to  pay  out  money  to  get  things  done. 
There  were  some  remarkable  cases  of  efficient  and  hon- 
est administration.  The  great  waterworks  system,  con- 
structed to  bring  water  from  Xochimilco  to  IVIexico 
City,  was  built  by  the  government,  and  is  as  fine  an 
example  of  engineering  work  as  is  to  be  found  on  the 
continent.  The  size  of  the  work  involved,  in  spite  of 
economical  administration,  the  expenditure  of  many 
millions  of  dollars.  The  engineer  who  designed  and 
carried  out  the  construction  of  the  work  from  beginning 
to  end  retired  from  office,  on  the  change  of  administra- 
tion, practically  penniless.  The  last  director  of  public 
works  in  Mexico  City  under  Diaz,  occupying  a  posi- 
tion affording  vast  opportunities  for  graft  in  dealing 
with  public  service  an(J  other  corporations,  was  obliged, 
when  forced  out  of  office  by  the  changed  order  of  things, 
to  seek  a  modest  clerkship  in  New  York.  Some  gov- 
ernors, even,  were  left  in  comparative  poverty  when 
they  lost  their  positions.  For  the  honest  and  efficient 
government  official  the  political  turnover  was  a  disaster, 
as  the  mere  fact  of  his  having  been  employed  under  the 
old  regime  was  sufficient  to  condemn  him. 
,'  Before  examining  the  operations  of  the  "  Cientifi- 
cos  "  it  is  worth  while  to  outline  the  way  the  govern- 
ment was  run  and  to  explain  its  relations  to  foreign 
capital,  concessions,  and  the  like.  Such  graft  as  ex- 
isted was  "  higher  up,"  and  the  government  depart- 
ments were,  as  a  whole,  honestly  conducted.  When 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  an  efficiency  expert,  gov-= 
ernment  departments,  the  world  over,  can  hardly  be 
called  efficient,  and  the  Mexican  departments  were 
scarcely  an  exception  to  the  rule.  Nevertheless,  they 
were  conducted  with  regularity,  and  business  was  trans- 


102      MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

acted  with  reasonable  speed  and,  generally  speaking, 
with  gi'eat  accuracy.  Governmental  practice  in  Mex- 
ico follows  the  French  scheme,  both  being  based,  pri- 
marily, on  the  Eoman  legal  code,  and,  latterly,  on  the 
code  JSTapoleon.  Under  this  practice  every  government 
or  private  act,  especially  as  to  contractual  relations,  is 
provided  for  by  the  code,  the  functions  of  courts  being 
rather  to  determine  questions  of  fact  than  those  of 
equity.  The  general  tendency,  therefore,  is  that  much 
more  detail  is  covered,  specifically,  in  government  con- 
tracts and  concessions  than  is  the  case  in  the  United 
States  and  other  countries  which,  in  government  prac- 
tice, follow  the  English  common  law  scheme.  In  all 
Mexican  concessions  covering  public  utilities,  for  in- 
stance, the  exact  duties,  obligations  and  rights  of  a  com- 
pany are  specified  with  a  minuteness  which  is  rarely 
found  in  American  franchises^  In  the  United  States 
franchise  tei-ms  have  frequently  been  of  a  general  char- 
acter, and  in  many  states  there  were  specific  laws  per- 
mitting the  organization,  under  such  laws,  of  telephone, 
electric  light  and  power,  interurban  railway  and  other 
companies  performing  public  services,  the  companies 
being  free  to  establish  their  own  rates  and  regulations. 
Only,  in  fact,  within  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years  has 
there  been,  in  the  United  States,  any  general  movement, 
through  the  creation  of  public  service  commissions,  to 
regulate  public  service  corporations  in  their  relations 
with  the  public,  fin  Mexico  for  many  years  all  con- 
cessions of  this  "character  have  been  very  explicit  as  to 
tariffs  and  details  of  operation,  and  the  provisions,  in 
general,  have  safeguarded  the  interests  of  the  public. 
It  is  true  that  liberal  concessions  were  granted  to  at- 
tract capital,  and  doubtless,  in  view  of  the  results  ob- 
tained, some  of  the  provisions  of  concessions  were  more 
liberal  than  they  should  have  been.     In  many  cases 


THE  CIENTIFICOS  103 

practical  exemption  from  taxes  was  granted, ^and,  while 
such  a  provision  may  have  been  necessary  during  a 
short  period  while  the  business  in  question  was  in  proc- 
ess of  development,  it  was  scarcely  fair  to  the  public 
that  such  exemption  should  have  been  granted,  as  was 
done  in  many  cases,  for  a  long  term  of  years.  Some 
of  the  largest  concerns  in  Mexico  have,  as  a  result  of 
this  sort  of  policy,  what  amounts  to  entire  exemption 
from  taxes  for  terms  varying  from  twenty-five  to  ninety- 
nine  years.  '  In  justification  of  the  policy  it  may  be  said, 
however,  that  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  interest  cap- 
ital in  Mexico,  especially  as,  contemporaneous  with  de- 
velopment in  Mexico,  there  was  a  world-wide  movement 
in  railway,  electric  power  and  other  public  utility  con- 
struction —  a  movement  on  such  a  large  scale  as  to 
absorb  all  capital  available  for  this  class  of  investment.)'' 
Irrigation  works  in  India,  railway  and  other  public 
utility  developments  in  the  Argentine,  Brazil,  Chili, 
China,  India,  Egypt  and  South  Africa,  were  all  bidding 
for  money,  and  offering  very  liberal  conditions.  Amer- 
ican railways  were  being  consolidated,  great  power 
plants  were  being  built,  and  Canada  was  absorbing  a 
vast  amount  of  capital  in  her  Western  development. 
The  great  world-wide  movement  in  foreign  investments, 
begun  in  the  early  'nineties,  was  in  full  sway,  and 
Mexico  was  in  competition  with  a  dozen  other  nations 
which  were  in  the  market.  She  was,  in  a  measure, 
forced  to  offer  good  terms  or  keep  out  of  the  market. 

Much  money  was,  of  course,  made  out  of  the  disposi- 
tion of  concessions,  which  were  duly  turned  into  cash, 
or  its  equivalent  in  stocks  and  bonds  of  companies  or- 
ganized. )  The  impression  as  to  the  proportion  of  such 
profits  to  the  actual  investment  involved  has,  however, 
been  a  greatly  exaggerated  one,  both  in  the  United 
States  and  in  Mexico.     There  is  a  general  impression 


104     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:N'D  TO-MORROW 

that  the  Mexican  public  was  shamefully  exploited  by 
foreign  speculators  and  promoters,  and  that  this  ex- 
ploitation was  carried  on  by  collusion  with  the  group 
w^hich  dominated  government  affairs.  The  facts  do 
not  justify  this  impression,  except,  perhaps,  in  a  few 
cases.  There  were,  to  be  sure,  promotion  profits,  but 
without  these  no  one  would  have  undertaken  to  have 
raised  the  money  for  the  different  enterprises.  So  far 
as  public  utilities  was  concerned,  the  promotion  profits 
in  various  undertakings-  were  proportionately  smaller 
than  those  made  in  corresponding  American  enter^ 
prises.  In  general,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  net  benefits 
to  capital  invested  were,  due  to  many  unknown  factors 
in  an  untried  field,  smaller  than  those  derived  from 
corresponding  investment  in  the  United  States,  Canada, 
the  Argentine  and  other  countries  in  which  economic 
conditions  were  better  understood.  The  grossly  exag- 
gerated idea  of  profits  made  by  various  concerns  has 
been  -of  the  greatest  possible  detriment,  through  the 
creation  of  a  generally  hostile  attitude  toward  invest- 
ments already  made  and  through  the  discouragement  of 
anv  further  inversion  of  capital  in  the  country. 


CHAPTEE  XI 
SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

In  the  early  day  of  the  Diaz  government  there  was, 
seemingly,  little  complaint  of  abuse  of  power,  and  mem- 
bers of  the  government  circle  did  not,  apparently,  make 
much  profit  out  of  concessions  granted.  The  govern- 
ment was  genuinely  anxious  to  have  a  great  development 
of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  and  any  one 
willing  to  undertake  something  which  gave  promise  of 
constructive  value  could  obtain  the  necessary  concession 
or  contract.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events, 
and  judged  by  standards  established  at  later  periods,  it 
seems  as  if  the  government,  in  its  anxiety  to  place  the 
nation  on  a  par  with  other  nations  in  the  program  of 
internal  development,  devoted  an  undue  proportion  of 
attention  to  making  such  development  attractive  to  cap- 
ital, and  not  sufficient  to  the  real  needs  of  the  people.. 
It  probably  felt  that  the  stimulation  of  industry  itself 
would  be  sufficient.  Doubtless  personal  interest  played 
some  part,  but,  broadly  speaking,  the  motives  back  of 
the  program  were  good.  General  Diaz,  at  the  end  of  a 
rule  of  thirty-five  years,  had,  according  to  common  re- 
port, a  fortune  of  three-quarters  of  a  million  dollars  — 
an  accumulation  at  an  average  rate  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  per  year.  Had  his  motives  been  purely 
selfish  he  could  easily  have  built  up  a  fortune  of  many 
millions.  He  doubtless  believed  that  a  form  of  benev- 
olent dictatorship  was  best  suited  to  the  country's  needs. 
To  give  the  country  such  a  government  he  needed  the 

105 


106     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MORROW 

aid  of  a  few  strong  men,  and  to  have  the  continued 
support  of  such  men  he  was  willing  that  they  should 
receive  some  tangible  benefits. 

The  whole  scheme  was  sound  enough,  and  honest 
enough,  in  the  beginning,  but  little  by  little  selfish  in- 
terests began  to  play  a  more  important  part  in  affairs. 
The  government  was  intended  to  be  a  paternal  one,  but 
bit  by  bit  it  became  more  personal  and  less  paternal. 
It  was  a  great  machine,  built  up  and  run  by  one  man, 
and  operating  in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  country. 
Governors  and  jefe  poiiticos,  even  if  honest  and  unselfish 
themselves,  gradually  came  more  and  more  under  its 
influence,  and  became  more  and  more  subservient  to 
the  wealthy  class  whose  support  gave  it  power. 

As  has  been  pointed  out,  Spanish  rule  in  Mexico  was 
designed  for  the  Spaniards,  and  the  wealthy  class  was 
exclusively  Spanish.  The  native  Indian,  except  as  a 
unit  of  labor,  had  no  participation  in  the  general  scheme 
of  things.  This  condition  was  not  materially  changed 
by  independence,  for  at  no  time  had  the  masses  ad- 
vanced sufficiently  to  exercise  any  political  influence. 
As  Mexico  had  always  been,  primarily,  an  agricultural 
country,  the  landhokling  class  had  always  dominated 
socially  and  financially,  and  indirectly  politically.  No 
important  middle  class  existed. ';  Lawyers,  doctors, 
tradespeople  and  others  who  composed  the  middle  class, 
were  dependent,  almost  entirely,  on  the  rich  class,  and 
were  content  to  cast  their  lot  with  it.  (The  Church  in 
Mexico  had  never  developed  on  the  broad  lines  along 
which  it  has  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  its  posi- 
tion was  much  like  that  of  the  church  in  Europe  dur- 
ing the  Middle  Ages  —  extremely  conservative,  narrow 
in  its  views,  a  check  on  social  development.  Conse- 
quently there  were  few  people  of  the  educated  class  who 
had  any  interest  in  making  protests  if  abuses  gTew  out 


SOCIAL  C0E'DITI0:N'S  107 

of  the  scheme  of  things,  and  the  great  mass  of  people, 
accustomed,  through  four  centuries  of  practical  slavery, 
to  bear  their  burdens  in  silence,  neither  would  nor  could 
make  any  effort  to  right  any  wrongs. ; 

It  is  manifestly  unfair  to  assume  in  studying  social 
conditions  that  all  people  of  one  class  are  actuated  by 
the  same  motives,  or  that,  for  instance,  all  members  of 
the  property-holding  class  in  Mexico  were  banded  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  Indians  in  a  sub- 
merged condition.  There  were  many  large  estate  hold- 
ers who  were  humane  in  the  treatment  of  their  labor, 
just  as  there  were,  in  the  South,  many  slave  holders  who 
were  kind  to  their  slaves  and  who,  by  their  daily  lives, 
proved  that  they  were  actuated  by  the  best  motives. 
There  were,  in  Mexico,  many  thousands  of  Indians, 
probably  a  majority  of  all  the  natives,  who  were  con- 
tented and  who  no  more  wanted  a  change  than  the  ma- 
jority of  Southern  slaves  wanted  freedom.  They  were 
used  to  the  life  as  they  lived  it  and  as  their  forebears 
had  lived  it  for  centuries,  knew  of  no  other  life,  nor 
could,  in  their  ignorance,  conceive  of  any  other  life. 
The  whole  system,  however,  was  wrong.  Tor  many 
years  there  had  existed  a  system  of  peonage  under 
which  no  one  was  free  to  leave  if  he  owed  his  employer 
money,  and,  as  the  estates  all  maintained  stores  to  sell 
supplies  to  the  laborers,  the  latter  were  always  in  debt. 
They  could,  then,  only  leave  if  their  employer  sold  his 
claims  to  some  one  else,  when  they  automatically  came 
under  the  control  of  the  new  creditor.;  This  system  had, 
from  time  to  time,  been  fearfully  abused,  the  peons, 
where  there  was  any  surplus,  being  farmed  out  to  work 
in  Yucatan  or  in  other  sections  which  needed  labor. 
:*  (while  this  form  of  slavery  had  been  legally  abolished, 
the  poor  peon,  as  he  continued  to  be  called,  was,  in  effect, 
as  much  of  a  slave  as  ever.     Born  on  an  estate,  he  stayed 


108     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^T>  TO-MOKROW 

there  througli  force  of  circumstances.  Education  was, 
for  all  practical  purposes,  out  of  the  question.  With 
wages  40  and  50  centavos  per  day  (20  and  25  cents) 
no  man  could  afford  to  put  his  children  in  school,  even 
if  a  school  were  within  reach,  which  was  rare.  Every 
child  became  a  worker  as  soon  as  he  had  strength  enough 
to  do  anything.  If  there  were  more  laborers  than  neces- 
sary, some  labor  agent  would  come  along  and  take 
groups  of  families  to  work  on  plantations  in  regions 
where  the  death  rate  demanded  a  constant  renewal  of 
labor  supply.  ]; 

Frequently  the  peon,  finding  no  work  in  the 
neighborhood,  would  start  across  country  on  foot, 
taking  his  family  and  household  possessions  with  him. 
It  has  always  been  a  pathetic  sight  to  see  these  Indians 
on  the  move  —  the  father  carrying,  on  his  back,  a  bun- 
dle holding  all  the  family  possessions  —  one  or  two 
blankets,  a  kettle,  a  couple  of  pans  and  one  or  two  bits 
of  pottery ;  —  one  or  two  tots,  wearing  shirts  which  had 
once  been  white,  toddling  along;  the  mother,  with  her 
youngest  swung  in  a  shawl  on  her  back,  pattering  along 
in  short,  dog-like  steps ;  all  silent,  pushing  forward  with 
no  particular  objective  save  a  general  idea  of  finding 
work;  stopping  at  the  first  stream  to  make  a  bush  fire 
and  cook  a  few  corn  cakes  for  a  meal ;  rolling  up  to- 
gether, under  the  stars,  for  the  night  —  and  on  again 
the  next  day.  Travel  on  any  road  in  Mexico  and  yon 
keep  meeting,  out  in  the  open  country,  group  after 
group  like  this,  until  you  become  hopelessly  depressed. 
Fortunately,  they  are  used  to  it,  and  take  everything 
as  a  matter  of  fact.  When  you  greet  them  you  will 
always  receive  a  pleasant  "  buenos  dias,  senor,"  in  re- 
ply, and  the  women  will  usually  show  their  teeth  as 
they  smile.  But  the  children,  poor  things,  are  always 
solemn.     It  is  the  way  of  Mexican  children.     Their 


SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  109 

expressive  brown  eyes  gaze  at  you  solemnly,  somewhat 
shyly,  aud  you  never  know  whether  they  are  happy  or 
hungry.  One  of  the  things  that  always  strikes  the 
stranger  in  Mexico  is  that  the  children  never  seem  to 
play.  Jhey  stand  or  sit  in  doorways  like  a  part  of  the 
fixed  stage  settings,  half  naked,  dirty,  silent. 

These<  wandering  and  homeless  people  are  in  evidence 
everywhere.  In  the  large  cities  the  railway  stations 
afford  a  convenient  shelter  at  night.  In  Mexico  City 
the  last  trains  leave  around  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  soon  after  that  hour  waiting-rooms,  corridors  and 
platforms  fill  up  with  homeless  people,  usually  from 
the  country,  who,  packed  together  on  the  floor,  sleep 
undisturbed  until  the  station  resumes  its  activities 
shortly  before  the  departure  of  early  morning  trains. 
Even  in  the  days  of  Mexico's  greatest  prosperity  rail- 
way stations  were  always  packed  at  night; —  packed 
knee-deep  with  men,  women,  children  and  bundles,  the 
whole  mass  usualh"  looking  more  like  a  huge  pile  of 
rags  than  a  collection  of  human  beings.  Any  disturb- 
ance in  industrial  or  economic  conditions  was  always 
followed  by  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  homeless 
people.  A  drouth  in  an  agricultural  region,  the  closing 
down  of  a  mining  camp,  the  suspension  of  work  in  a 
cotton  mill  town  —  and  hundreds  or  thousands  of  peo- 
ple would  start  wandering  around  the  country. 

In  the  rural  districts  each  large  hacienda  (plantation 
farm  or  ranch)  is  a  community  by  itself.  There  are 
the  principal  hacienda  buildings,  with  residence,  office, 
chapel,  store,  barns  and  warehouses  around  a  large 
courtyard,  the  whole  enclosed  by  a  high  wall.  Clus- 
tering around  this  group  of  buildings  are  numerous 
adobe  houses,  often  no  more  than  huts,  for  the  laborers. 
The  houses  are  usually  one-room  affairs,  with  a  kitchen- 
shed  in  the  rear,  and  the  living-room  is  merely  a  shelter 


110     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

in  which  the  family  sleep.  In  the  poorer  class  of 
houses  beds  are  unknown,  and  the  only  furniture  is  a 
table,  one  or  two  benches,  and  two  or  three  reed-mats 
on  which  to  sleep.  Very  frequently  there  is  a  sort  of 
an  open  fireplace  at  one  end  of  the  room,  all  the  fam- 
ily cooking  being  done  in  the  living-room.  Clothes- 
washing  is  done  in  the  nearest  stream.  One  of  the  most 
familiar  sights  from  railway  trains  in  Mexico  is  that 
of  a  seemingly  endless  number  of  women  scattered  along 
the  beds  of  streams  near  the  large  cities,  all  scrubbing 
and  rubbing  dripping  clothes  on  smooth  boulders.  In 
many  of  the  large  cities  public  wash  houses  have  been 
provided,  but  their  capacity  is  limited,  and  the  bulk  of 
the  population  has  to  depend  on  stream  washing. 

The  homes  of  the  laboring  classes  in  the  large  cities 
are  somewhat  more  substantial,  and,  viewed  from  the 
street,  present  a  solid  and  comfortable  appearance. 
Turnishings  are  scant,  and  general  arrangements  are  as 
simple  as  those  in  houses  in  the  rural  districts.  Crowd- 
ing among  the  poor  is  worse  in  the  large  cities,  a  single 
room  frequently  being  used  as  sleeping  quarters  for  ten 
or  twelve  people. 

The  Mexican  peon  wastes  little  on  clothes.  In  the 
country  he  wears  a  white  cotton  blouse  and  white  cot- 
ton trousers,  somewhat  resembling  a  loose  suit  of  pa- 
jamas, a  pair  of  sandals  made  of  rope  or  leather,  and  a 
straw  sombrero.  In  the  cities  he  wears  a  jumper  and 
overalls  of  heavy  cotton,  plus  sandals  and  sombrero. 
Underwear,  except  with  the  higher  class  of  labor,  is 
unknown.  The  sole  protection  against  cold  is  the 
zarape,  a  large  heavy  woolen  blanket,  usually  bright  in 
colors,  in  which  the  peon  muffles  himself  up  to  his 
eyes. 

Climatic  conditions,  fortunately,  favor  the  simple 
life.     In  the  tierra  caliente,  or  hot  country,  it  is  hot, 


SOCIAL  C0:N'DITI0KS  111 

even  at  night,  save  when  a  "  norther  "  blows.  In  the 
tierra  templada,  or  temperate  country,  little  clothing  is 
needed,  although  chilly  and  even  raw  weather  is  expe- 
rienced during  a  norther,  sometimes  for  a  week  run- 
ning. On  the  Mexican  plateau,  however,  with  eight 
thousand  feet  of  elevation,  the  nights  are  always  cool, 
and  the  temperature  drops  below  the  freezing  point  in 
the  winter.  Mexico  City  all  through  the  summer  is 
cooler  than  New  York  or  Chicago,  and  one  always  needs 
a  blanket  at  night.  In  the  winter  the  days  are  cool  and 
the  nights  cold,  but  it  is  always  dry,  and  the  cold  lacks 
the  chill  and  penetration  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  or  Great 
Lakes  regions.  Besides,  there  is  always  brilliant  sun- 
shine. The  peon  is  at  least  spared  acute  suffering  from 
cold,  and,  brought  up  with  no  heat  entering  into  his 
calculations,  he  probably  feels  such  cold  as  there  is  less 
than  his  steam-heated  neighbor  from  the  north. 

The  marriage  tie  in  Mexico  is  very  loosely  drawn. 
Conditions  as  to  social  and  family  relations  are  primi- 
tive rather  than  immoral.  Charles  Macomb  Elandrau's 
"  Viva  Mexico!  "  which  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  life  on 
a  Mexican  coffee  plantation,  makes  clear  the  situation 
as  to  social  relaiions.  To  quote  from  this  entertaining 
book: 

"  The  Mexicans  are  an  excessively  passionate  people 
and  their  passions  develop  at  an  early  age  (I  employ 
the  words  in  a  specific  sense),  not  only  because  nature 
has  so  ordered  it,  but  because,  owing  to  the  way  in  which 
they  live  —  whole  families,  not  to  mention  animals,  in 
a  small,  one-roomed  house  —  the  elemental  facts  of  life 
are  known  to  them  from  the  time  they  can  see  with  their 
eyes  and  hear  with  their  ears.  For  a  Mexican  child  of 
seven  or  eight  among  the  lower  classes,  there  are  no 
mysteries.  Boys  of  fifteen  have  had  their  affairs  with 
older  women ;  boys  of  seventeen  are  usually  strongly  at- 


112     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

tracted  by  some  one  person  whom  they  would  like  to 
marry.  And  just  at  this  interesting  and  important 
crisis  the  Church  furnishes  the  spectator  with  one  of  its 
disappointing  and  somewhat  gross  exhibitions. 

"  It  seems  to  have  been  proven  that  for  people  in  gen- 
eral certain  rigid  social  laws  are  a  comfort  and  an  aid 
to  a  higher,  steadier  standard  of  thought  and  life.  In 
communities  where  such  usages  obtain,  the  ordinary 
person,  in  taking  unto  himself  a  wife,  does  so  with  a 
feeling  of  finality.  On  one's  wedding  day,  but  little 
thought  is  given,  I  fancy,  to  the  legal  loopholes  of 
escape.  It  strikes  one  as  strange,  as  wicked  even,  that 
a  powerful  Church  (a  Church  moreover,  that  regards 
marriage  as  a  sacrament)  should  deliberately  place  in- 
superable obstacles  in  the  path  of  persons  who  for  the 
time  being,  at  least,  have  every  desire  to  tread  the 
straight  and  narrow  way.  This,  to  its  shame,  the 
Church  in  Mexico  does. 

"'  The  only  legally  valid  marriage  ceremony  in  Mex- 
ico is  the  civil  ceremony,  but  to  a  Mexican  peon  the  civil 
ceremony  means  nothing  whatever;  he  can't  grasp  its 
significance,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  prosaic,  business- 
like proceeding  to  touch  his  heart  and  stir  his  imagina- 
tion. The  only  ceremony  he  recognizes  is  one  conducted 
by  a  priest  in  a  church.  When  he  is  married  by  a  priest 
he  believes  himself  to  be  married  —  which  for  moral 
and  spiritual  purposes  is  just  as  valuable  as  if  he  ac- 
tually were.  One  would  suppose  that  the  Church  would 
recognize  this  and  encourage  unions  of  more  or  less  sta- 
bility by  making  marriage  inexpensive  and  easy.  If  it 
had  the  slightest  desire  to  elevate  the  lower  classes  in 
Mexico  from  their  frankly  bestial  attitude  toward  the 
marital  relation  —  to  inculcate  ideas  different  and  finer 
than  those  maintained  by  their  chickens  and  their  pigs  — 
it  could  long  since  easily  have  done  so.    But  quite  simply 


SOCIAL  CON'DITION'S  113 

it  has  no  such  desire.  In  the  morality  of  the  masses  it 
shows  no  interest.  For  performing  the  marriage  cere- 
mony it  charges  much  more  than  poor  people  can  pay 
without  going  into  debt.  JSTow  and  then  they  go  into 
debt ;  more  often  they  dispense  with  the  ceremony.  On 
my  ranch,  for  instance,  very  few  of  the  '  married ' 
people  are  married.  Almost  every  grown  man  lives 
with  a  woman  who  makes  his  tortillas  and  bears  him 
children,  and  about  some  of  these  households  there  is  an 
air  of  permanence  and  content.  But  with  the  death  of 
mutual  desire  there  is  nothing  that  tends  to  turn  the 
scale  in  favor  of  permanence ;  no  sense  of  obligation,  no 
respect  for  a  vague  authority  higher  and  better  than 
oneself,  no  adverse  public  opinion.  Half  an  hour  of 
ennui,  or  some  one  seen  for  a  moment  from  a  new  point 
of  view  —  and  all  is  over.  The  man  goes  his  way,  the 
woman  hers.  The  children,  retaining  their  father's 
name,  remain,  as  a  rule,  with  the  mother.  And  soon 
there  is  a  new  set  of  combinations.  One  woman  who 
worked  here  had  three  small  children  —  every  one  with 
a  different  surname;  the  name  of  its  father.  While 
here,  she  kept  house  with  the  mayordomo,  who  for  no 
reason  in  particular  had  wearied  of  the  wife  he  had 
married  in  church.  ]^o  one  thought  it  odd  that  she 
should  have  three  children  by  different  men,  or  that  she 
should  live  with  the  mayordomo,  or  that  the  mayordomo 
should  tire  of  his  wife  and  live  with  her.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  there  was  nothing  odd  about  it.  No  one  was 
doing  wrong,  no  one  was  '  flying  in  the  face  of  public 
opinion.'  She  and  the  three  men  who  had  successively 
deserted  her,  the  mayordomo  who  found  it  convenient 
to  form  an  alliance  with  her,  and  his  wife,  who  betook 
herself  to  a  neighboring  ranch  and  annexed  a  boy  of  six- 
teen, were  all  simply  living  their  lives  in  accordance 
with  the  promptings  they  had  never  been  taught  to  re- 


114     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

sist.  It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  a  mother,  in  a  mo- 
ment of  irritation,  exclaim,  as  she  gives  her  child  a 
slap,  '  Hijo  de  quien  sabe  quien!'  ('Child  of  who 
knows  whom!  ')  At  an  early  age  when  they  first  fall 
in  love  they  would,  I  think,  almost  always  prefer  to  be 
married.  But  where  get  the  ten  pesos,  without  which 
the  Church  refuses  to  make  them  man  and  wife  ?  The 
idea  of  saving  and  waiting  is  to  them,  of  course,  utterly 
preposterous.  Why  should  it  not  be?  What  tangible 
advantage  to  them  would  there  be  in  postponement? 
The  Church,  which  has  always  been  successful  in  devel- 
oping and  maintaining  prejudices,  could  have  developed, 
had  it  wished  to,  the  strongest  prejudice  in  favor  of 
matrimony,  and  the  permanence  of  the  marriage  tie. 
But  it  has  not  done  so,  and  now,  even  when  peons  do 
have  the  religious  ceremony  performed,  they  do  not  con- 
sider it  binding.  After  having  gone  to  so  much  expense, 
they  are  not  likely  to  separate  so  soon ;  but  that  is  all. 
One  of  the  men  here  has  been  married  three  or  four 
times  and  on  every  occasion  he  has  treated  himself  to  a 
religious  ceremony  with  quite  a  splendid  dance  after- 
wards. As  he  is  a  skilled  mason  who  commands  good 
wages  and  has  no  bad  habits  (except  that  of  getting  mar- 
ried every  little  while),  he  can  afford  it.  He  is  a  genial 
sort  of  creature  and  I  think  he  enjoys  having  dinner 
parties.  Sometimes  he  deserts  his  wives  and  sometimes 
they  desert  him.  Of  course  I  don't  know,  but  I  have 
an  idea  that  to  have  been  married  to  him  at  one  time  or 
another  carries  with  it  considerable  prestige." 


CHAPTER  XII 
HYGIENIC  CONDITIONS 

Albeeto  J.  Pani,  now  Secretary  of  Industry  in  the 
Mexican  cabinet,  two  years  ago  published  a  valuable 
work,  ''  Hygiene  in  Mexico,"  which  gives  much  inter- 
esting data  on  physical  and  hygienic  conditions.  In 
Mexico  City  the  low  and  swampy  laud,  with  attending 
difficulties  of  drainage,  helped  to  undermine  public 
health.  High  winds,  sweeping  over  the  barren  country 
around  the  capital,  bring  with  them  terrific  dust  storms 
which,  gathering  up  the  manure  and  accumiilated  filth 
of  the  streets,  spread  the  germs  of  tuberculosis.  The 
fearful  crowding  of  people  in  the  poorer  classes  breeds 
all  contagious  and  infectious  diseases.  These  factors, 
combined  with  under-feeding,  result  in  a  low  state  of 
vitality  and  a  very  high  mortality  rate.  Senor  Pani 
gives  health  statistics  of  various  countries  and  of  large 
cities,  showing  a  mortality  rate  of  17.53  per  1000  in 
eighteen  European  cities  of  half  a  million  population 
and  a  rate  of  16  per  thousand  in  eight  American  cities 
of  about  the  same  size,  while  the  death  rate  in  Mexico 
City  is  given  at  42  per  thousand.  The  death  rate  per 
thousand  in  Mexico  City  is  three  times  that  of  Detroit 
and  Cleveland.  The  only  cities  of  corresponding  size 
in  the  world  which  approach  Mexico's  figures  are  Ma- 
dras, with  39,  and  Cairo,  with  40,  in  both  of  which 
cholera  is  endemic  and  both  of  which  suffer  from  ex- 
treme heat.  Mexico  City,  at  an  elevation  of  over  7,000 
feet  above  sea  level,  is,  climatically,  healthy,  and,  given 
proper  conditions  of  housing  and  nourishment,  should 

115 


116     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

have  as  low  a  death  rate  as  any  city  in  the  world. 

Seiior  Pani  quotes  Herve-Maugon  and  other  author- 
ities in  showing  that  for  the  normal  person  rations 
should  produce  4,200  calories  of  energy  for  very  light 
work,  4,800  for  ordinary  work  and  6,000  for  heavy 
work,  while  the  rations  received  by  the  Mexican  peon 
class  can  only  produce  from  2,800  to  3,000  calories. 
Inevitably,  the  wearing  away  process  goes  on  at  a  very 
rapid  rate.  This  not  only  affects,  inunediately,  the 
death  rate,  but  undermines  the  vitality  of  the  nation. 

We  are  accustomed,  in  a  general  way,  to  talk  of  cheap 
labor  in  Mexico,  without  any  conception  of  what  the 
term  implies.  Seiior  Pani  gives  four  examples  of  fam- 
ily earnings  and  expenses,  any  one  of  which,  in  a  few 
words  and  figures,  shows  the  scale  of  living.  The  case 
of  Augustin  Lopez,  a  gardener  in  the  public  gardens,  is 
typical.  Lopez,  his  wife  and  his  mother  live  in  one 
room,  12  feet  long,  11  feet  wide  and  13  feet  high. 
There  are  two  couches  for  furniture,  there  are  sufhcient 
kitchen  utensils,  and  the  place  is  very  clean.  Water  is 
obtained  from  a  neighboring  well,  and  there  is  a  public 
wash  house  nearby.  The  family,  weekly,  spends  the 
following  amount  (in  pesos,  with  the  peso  at  50  cents, 
U.  S.  currency)  : 

Corn    $1.04 

Beans    48 

4.4  lbs.  meat   70 

Chile    16 

Salt ■ 11 

Sugar    11 

Wood  and  charcoal   60 

Pulque    42 — $3.62 

Rent     50 

Cotton  cloth,  etc 62 

Soap     25 

Barber  shop   (once  a  month  .30)    07 

$5.06 


HYGIENIC  CONDITIONS  117 

Lopez  earns  .75  centavos  daily,  works  seven  days  in 
the  week,  and,  barring  accident,  earns  $5.25  ($2.62 
U.  S.  currency),  so  that,  if  nothing  extraordinary  hap- 
pens and  if  he  does  not  get  wasteful  or  extravagant,  his 
income  leaves  him  19  centavos  to  the  good  every  week. 
If,  through  sickness,  he  misses  a  day,  it  takes  him  four 
weeks  to  catch  up. 

Marcelino  Nievs,  also  a  gardenei",  earns  68  centavos' 
daily,  and  works  six  days,  receiving  a  total  of  $4.08 
($2.04  cents).  He  lives  with  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren in  one  room  formed  by  an  adobe  wall  on  one  side 
and  boards  on  the  other  three  sides,  no  windows,  one 
door,  all  cooking  done  with  charcoal  in  the  room.  His 
weekly  expenses  are  now  58  centavos  more  than  his  in- 
come. When  he  can  get  an  extra  day's  work  on  Sun- 
days he  can  break  even.  His  only  way  of  catching  up 
is  to  cut  down  on  food  allowance  and  cut  out  any  ex- 
pense for  clothes.  He  can  do  away  with  a  weekly  bud- 
get of  40  centavos  (20  cents)  for  clothes,  and  by  re- 
ducing his  food  bill  10  per  cent,  his  income  will  cover 
his  needs.  With  a  total  weekly  allowance  of  $1.78 
(U.  S.)  for  two  adults  and  two  children,  JVIarcelius  could 
doubtless  give  some  valuable  pointers  on  food-  conserva- 
tion and  the  empty  garbage  pail. 

These  are  not  exceptional  cases.  For  many  years 
gardeners  and  day  laborers  in  general  received  75  cen- 
tavos a  day.  A  peso  a  day  was  a  rather  high  wage. 
Many  of  the  workmen  supported  families  with  children 
too  small  to  work.  If  one  were  to  look  for  "  hard  luck  " 
cases,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  tind  men  maintaining 
six  or  seven  in  a  family  on  75  centavos  a  day.  Allow- 
ance, of  course,  must  be  made  for  the  difference  in  the 
style  of  living,  but  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  food 
is  not  especially  cheap  in  Mexico.  Corn,  the  staple  of 
the  country,  sold  in  normal  times  at  12  pesos  a  carga, 


118     MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^D  TO-MORROW 

or  about  one  dollar  a  bushel,  as  against  a  price  of  sixty 
to  eighty  cents  per  bushel  (retail)  in  the  United  States. 
Eig-ures  quoted  from  Seiior  Pani's  book  refer  to  wages 
formerly  prevailing.  Present  conditions  will  be  dealt 
with  in  another  chapter. 

I  With  two  and  a  half  million  families  having  incomes 
of  from  $S  cents  to  /pScents  per  day,  social  conditions  in 
Mexico  could  not,  by  the  wildest  stretch  of  imagination, 
be  considered  as  satisfactory.  Life  for  the  Mexican 
peon  has,  for  years,  even  for  centuries,  been  nothing 
more  than  existence,  and  a  hand-to-mouth  existence  at 
that.  Earnings  have  been  barely  sufficient  for  food  and 
for  the  simplest  sort  of  clothing.  With  the  rents  which 
peons  have  been  able  to  pay  nothing  like  sanitary  ar- 
rangements could  be  provided.  Disease  and  epidemics 
have  been  common.  The  peon  could  not  afford  doctor's 
bills,  and  medicines  were  out  of  the  question.  Educa- 
tion of  children  w^as  necessarily  limited  to  children  not 
old  enough  to  help  increase  the  family  income.  |  During 
the  Diaz  regime  considerable  was  done  in  the  way  of 
opening  primary  schools,  and  the  percentage  of  illiter- 
acy was  somewhat  reduced.  There  were,  moreover,  pa- 
rochial schools  which  accomplished  something.  The 
school  attendance  was,  however,  small,  even  in  the  large 
cities,  while  in  the  rural  districts  schools  were  so  far 

V    apart  as  to  be  out  of  reach  for  even  the  better  class  of 

\  laboring  men. 


CILiPTER  XIII 
AGRARIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS 

The  laud  question  in  Mexico  has  for  years  been  a  seri- 
ous one,  and  to-day  presents  very  ditiicult  problems. 
The  Spanish  made  huge  grants  of  land  to  people  of 
influence  or  in  reward  for  services  to  the  crown,  and 
these  great  estates  in  many  cases  have  passed  down 
intact,  either  through  inheritance  or  through  sale.  The 
church,  during  the  Spanish  rule,  acquired  immense 
holdings,  and,  while  the  church  was  dispossessed  under 
the  reforms  under  Juarez,  the  holdings,  by  a  series  of 
manipulations,  passed  into  private  hands,  usually  in 
the  shape  of  large  estates.  The  tendency  for  years  has 
been  to  increase  the  size  of  existing  estates  through  the 
purchase  of  adjoining  properties,  involving,  in  each 
case,  large  transactions  which  only  the  very  rich  could 
handle.  A  large  estate  frequently  owns  all  the  land  in 
a  valley  district,  and  the  poor  classes  have  rarely  had 
an  opportunity  to  become  land  owners.)  There  are 
estates  in  Mexico  which  cover  immense  areas.  Fre- 
quently one  can  ride  hours  on  the  train  without 
leaving  the  limits  of  a  property.  We  have  no  con- 
ception of  what  a  large  estate  really  is.  There  are, 
in  Mexico,  one  hundred  estates  which  are  credited 
with  over  a  hundred  million  acres  of  land,  or,  on  the 
average,  over  a  million  acres  each.  The  Terrazas  es- 
tate, mainly  in  Chihuahua  but  lapping  over  into  adjoin- 
ing states,  is  said  to  contain  13,000,000  acres  of  land, 
more  than  twice  the  size  of  the  State  of  iiassachusetts. 

119 


120     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:N'D  TO-MORROW 

In  the  State  of  Lower  California,  over  700  miles  long 
and  nearly  100  miles  wide,  with  an  area  larger  than 
Michigan,  78  per  cent,  of  the  lands  belong  to  large  com- 
panies. In  this  state  the  Mexican  International  Coloni- 
zation Company,  the  Chartered  Company  of  Lower 
California,  the  Adolfo  Hulle  Company  and  the  Cali- 
fornia Land  Company,  Limited,  all  foreign  concerns, 
hold  a  total  of  26,070,000  acres  of  land,  comprising  an 
area  of  over  40,000  square  miles,  the  first  named  leading 
with  thirteen  million  fonr  hundred  thousand  acres. 
The  area  owned  by  these  four  concerns  equals,  almost 
exactly,  the  total  area  of  the  state  of  Ohio.  Through- 
out the  jS^orthern  States  very  large  properties  are  the 
rule.  Between  Saltillo  and  Zacatecas,  180  miles,  all 
the  land  belongs  to  three  estates.  The  Mexican  North- 
western Railway  owns  a  property,  of  3,000,000  acres,  of 
which  over  three  million  acres  are  covered  with  pine, — ■ 
the  largest  single  tract  of  timber  in  the  world.  Farther 
south  there  are  also  some  large  properties.  The  railway 
travels  for  thirty  leagues  through  the  Escandon  estate 
in  Hidalgo.  In  the  State  of  Tamaulipas  there  is  a 
hacienda  of  750,000  acres,  of  which  more  than  half  is 
tillable  land  but  of  which  less  than  twenty  thousand  acres 
is  cultivated.  In  the  Tehuantepec  country  there  are  a 
number  of  timber  grants  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
or  more.  A  census  taken  in  1910  shows  that  in  the 
whole  republic  880,000  square  kilometers  (550,000 
square  miles)  of  land  belong  to  six  thousand  people, 
with  an  average  holding  of  58,000  acres.  While  it  is 
true  that  large  stretches  of  these  lands,  particularly  in 
the  Xorth,  are  sterile,  nevertheless  the  figures,  as  show- 
ing the  concentration  of  lauds  in  a  relatively  few  hands, 
are  startling.  There  are  in  Mexico  about  11,000  of 
what  may  be  classed  as  large  properties  —  properties  of 
2,500  acres  or  more  —  as  against  25,000  such  properties 


AGKARIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS     121 

a  hundred  years  ago.  While,  in  other  countries,  the 
number  of  individual  holdings  has  greatly  increased,  in 
Mexico  the  number  of  individual  holdings  has  steadily 
decreased.  < 

^  The  concentration  of  lands  in  relatively  few  hands  has 
naturally  placed  definite  restrictions  on  opportunities 
open  to  the  peon  class  for  improvement  of  its  position. 
In  the  first  place,  there  was  little  or  no  land  for  sale  in 
small  pieces.  Moreover,  the  peon  had  no  money  with 
which  to  buy,  further  reducing  the  probability  or  possi- 
bility of  his  becoming  a  landholder.  Most  important  of 
all,  the  peon  lacked  education,  knew  nothing  of  farming 
except  such  knowledge  as  he  gained  from  his  own  expe- 
rience as  a  farm  laborer  —  an  experience  of  a  mechani- 
cal sort  in  plowing,  sowing  and  reaping  —  so  that,  even 
if  the  first  two  ditiiculties  could  be  overcome,  the  odds 
were  against  his  succeeding  as  a  farmer.  He  remained, 
by  force  of  circumstances,  a  laborer  working  under  the 
same  conditions  as  those  which  had  prevailed  for  cen- 
turies. Technically  free,  he  was  really  a  slave  to  his 
surroundings,  with  great  odds  against  his  breaking  loose. 
The  concentration  of  lands  in  large  holdings  had  an- 
other effect  on  the  general  economic  scheme  through  the 
curtailment  of  production.  Whether  in  ranching  coun- 
try or  on  farm  land,  the  probability  of  the  land  being 
used  to  the  highest  advantage  is  naturally  reduced  when 
the  size  of  the  property  becomes  so  large  as  to  make 
personal  supervision  impossible.  ]  On  an  estate  of  half 
a  million  acres  anything  like  personal  supervision  by 
the  owner  was  out  of  the  question.  The  Mexican  land- 
holders have  never  been  industrial  organizers,  and  with- 
out an  elaborate  organization  the  very  great  estates  could 
not  be  worked  to  capacity.  (The  tendency  was  always  to 
leave  the  management  to  an  administrator,  or  agent, 
who  cultivated  such  land  as  he  could,  himself,  watch 


122     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

over.  Moreover,  in  earlier  days  the  markets  for  farm 
products  were,  because  of  the  transportation  question, 
purely  of  a  local  character,  and  overproduction  meant 
unprofitable  prices.  While  railroad  construction  had 
somewhat  altered  the  situation,  the  tariffs  established 
were  not  calculated  to  make  for  a  full  development  of 
agricultural  resources.  The  general  tendency,  there- 
fore, was  toward  a  limited  use  of  the  soil.  This  had 
the  double  effect  of  avoiding  any  scarcity  of  labor,  keep- 
ing down  production  cost,  and  of  maintaining  a  high 
price  for  products,  thus  yielding  the  highest  possible 
profit  with  the  least  possible  expense  and  efforty  This 
was,  in  all  probability,  more  the  result  of  established 
custom  than  of  any  deliberate  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
landholding  class.  As  pointed  out  before,  corn,  the 
staple  of  the  country,  has,  in  normal  times,  sold  for  12 
pesos  a  carga  (about  six  bushels),  or  about  a  dollar  a 
bushel,  in  spite  of  farm  wages  rarely  exceeding  40  cents 
a  day. 

yWith  the  general  social  and  political  conditions  exist- 
ing, it  was  almost  inevitable  that  there  would  be  abuses 
of  power.  The  rich  land-o\\Tiing  class  used  its  influence 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  order  of  things,  and, 
in  some  cases  at  least,  for  the  extension  of  its  powder. 
In  some  sections  communal  lands  were  seized,  on  one 
protest  or  another,  and  incorporated  in  large  estates. 
The  Yaqui  Indians,  living  in  the  North,  were  dispos- 
sessed of  lands  they  had  held  for  centuries,  and,  on  their 
revolting  openly  against  the  government,  large  numbers 
of  them  w^ere  deported  to  work  on  plantations  in  Cam- 
peche  and  Yucatan.  In  some  districts  the  owners  of  the 
largest  estates  had  no  hesitation  in  seizing,  on  a  flimsy 
pretext,  any  lands  belonging  to  Indian  communities, 
relying  on  "  pull  "  wdth  the  jefe  politico,  governor,  or 
higher  authorities  to  win  out  in  case  of  any  opposition. 


AGRAKIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS     123 

Where  the  local  authorities  were  corrupt  it  was  easy  to 
put  through  unjust  deals,  and  where  they  were  honest 
it  was  always  possible  to  bring  strong  pressure  to  keep 
them  quiet."^ 

Aside  from  the  rural  question  there  were  many  things 
calculated  to  irritate  the  poorer  classes.  Exclusive  con- 
cessions were  granted  to  people  of  influence  for  slaugh- 
ter houses,  for  the  sale  of  pulque  (the  national  bever- 
age), and  for  other  lines  of  business  which  entered  into 
the  daily  life  of  the  people.  As  a  result  in  certain  dis- 
tricts certain  families  had  a  monopoly  of  half  the  com- 
modities. These  concessions,  on  their  face,  were  usually 
within  the  law,  but  were  frequently  so  worded  as  to 
make  competition  impossible.  (^  The  owners  of  large 
estates  were  protected  in  high  pi'ices  for  farm  products 
by  high  railway  tariffs  and  by  import  duties  of  100  to 
250  per  cent,  on  corn,  wheat  and  flour.l  The  general 
tendency  of  the  schedule  of  import  duties  was  to  place 
the  heaviest  taxes  on  commodities,  while  luxuries  such 
as  silks,  champagne  and  jewelry  were  lightly  taxed. 
Wheat  and  flour  paid  100  per  cent,  import  duty,  while 
diamonds  and  jewelry  paid  a  nominal  duty  of  ten  per 
cent.  '  Taxes  on  farm  properties  were  levied  on  a  basis 
of  production,  but  doubtless  in  many  cases  the  great 
landowners  escaped  paying  their  full  share,  and  in  any 
event  such  taxes  were  scarcely  fairly  apportioned,  as  the 
small  farms,  practically  cultivated  from  end  to  end, 
paid,  proportionately,  much  higher  taxes  than  the  great 
estates  on  which  only  a  fraction  of  the  land  was  tilled.) 
Fernando  Gonzalez  Roa,  in  "  The  Mexican  People  and 
Their  Detractors,"  says  that  "  a  truck  farmer  with  a 
capital  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pesos  frequently  paid 
a  larger  tax  than  the  richest  land  baron  of  the  region." 
This  seems  incredible,  but  unquestionably  the  tendency 
was  toward  an  unjust  distribution  of  the  tax  burden. 


124     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MORROW 

Senor  Roa  states  that  "  the  tax  upon  street  sellers  in 
public  places,  or  small  retail  stores,  produced  more  in 
one  of  the  richest  districts  in  the  State  of  Guanajuato 
than  the  whole  laud  tax  of  the  district." 

,  Aside  from  questions  which  directly  affected  the  great 
mass  of  people,  there  were  many  complaints  as  to  the 
operations  of  a  group  which  handled  paving  and  other 
government  contracts,  of  a  monopoly  granted  to  a  com- 
pany for  the  manufacture  of  dynamite,  protected  by  pro- 
hibitive import  duties,  and  of  the  general  tendency  to 
grant  special  terms  to  the  favored  few.')  Three  or  four 
large  banks,  having  direct  or  indirect  government  sup- 
port, were  used  by  a  group  of  men  to  feather  their  own 
nests.  The  usual  method  employed  in  these  banking 
transactions  was  to  incorporate  a  company  to  take  up 
some  particular  line  of  business  —  the  purchase  and 
operation  of  a  string  of  big  haciendas,  the  construction 
of  a  hydro-electric  plant,  the  development  of  an  irriga- 
tion system,  and  so  forth.  The  money  required,  in  each 
case,  was  supplied  by  one,  two  or  three  banks  on  the 
notes  of  the  corporation  undertaking  the  business  in 
question.  The  notes  were  sometimes  nominally  secured, 
but  frequently  entirely  unsecured  except  by  the  business 
undertaken.  If  the  business  was  a  success,  the  banks 
were  repaid  from  the  proceeds  of  bonds  sold  to  the 
public.  If,  however,  the  business  proved  disastrous,  the 
banks  were  the  only  losers  —  another  case  of  "  heads  I 
win  and  tails  you  lose."  Some  of  the  largest  banks 
were  well  loaded  up  with  the  notes  or  securities  of  bank- 
rupt ventures,  and  many  banks  throughout  the  country 
had  loaned  undue  proportions  of  their  assets  on  haci- 
endas owned  by  political  friends.  Tli€i  amount  of  thcae 
holdings  at  one  time  became  alarming. 

(  For  many  years  there  had  been  a  demand  for  an  agri- 
cultural bank  to  aid  in  the  legitimate  development  of 


AGRARIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS      125 

farming,  and,  in  the  latter  years  of  the  Diaz  regime  an 
agrarian  bank,  the  "  Caja  de  Prestamos,"  was  organized 
for  the  purpose.  The  government  was  directly  behind 
this  institution,  was  its  majority  stockliolder,  advanced 
it  large  sums  of  money,  and  secured  for  it,  in  ISTew  York, 
a  loan  of  twenty-five  million  dollars.  This  bank  loaned 
out  a  total  of  $52,855,180  (pesos),  but  the  loans  were 
made  to  a  total  of  only  98  people  or  corporations.  Of 
the  total  loans  $31,393,000  (pesos)  went  to  twelve  peo- 
ple or  concerns  with  an  average  of  one  million  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  apiece.)  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  major  portion  of  the  funds  were  used  to  relieve  other 
banks  of  loans  of  doubtful  value.  Some  funds  were 
advanced  for  industrial  enterprises,  nearly  two  million 
being  loaned  to  the  Monterrey  Iron  and  Steel  Works, 
and  some  large  loans  were  made  to  large  estate  ovsmers 
to  enable  them  to  acquire  adjoining  properties.  Of  the 
total  loans  less  than  five  million  dollars  was  loaned  in 
lots  of  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. ) 
The  bank,  as  an  agrarian  aid,  was  a  total  failure,  and  its 
assets,  in  many  cases,  are  of  very  doubtful  value.  It  is 
a  matter  of  public  gossip  in  Mexico  that  this  bank  was 
deliberately  used  by  certain  "  Cientificos "'  to  carry 
loads  which  they  could  not  carry  themselves. 

(Another  cause  for  complaint  arose  from  the  conces- 
sions granted  for  the  development  of  oil  lands.  The 
old  Mexican  laws,  based  on  code  procedure,  did  not  con- 
template the  development  of  oil  fields  in  the  country, 
and,  on  the  discovery  of  oil,  individuals  or  companies 
were  able  to  acquire  oil  lands  without  any  encumbrance 
in  the  shape  of  existing  legislation.  Some  of  the  con- 
cerns which  were  early  in  the  field  felt  that  their  posi- 
tion would  be  more  secure  if  they  were  protected  by 
definite  concessions.  They  first  acquired  large  tracts  of 
land  in  the  oil  producing  district,  the  total  holdings  of 


126     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:N'D  TO-MORROW 

the  five  largest  companies  being  close  to  three  million 
five  hundred  thousand  acres.  They  then  obtained  defi- 
nite concessions  giving  them  exclusive  rights  within  the 
lands  purchased,  low  tixed  taxes,  exemption  from  import 
duties  for  machixiery  required,  certain  rights  of  expro- 
priation for  pipe  lines,  and,  perhaps  most  important  of 
all,  a  prohibition  against  the  sinking  of  any  wells  within 
three  kilometers,  or  about  two  miles,  of  their  landsJ 
Even  before  the  business  was  on  a  commercial  basis 
there  was  considerable  gossip,  almost  amounting  to  a 
scandal,  regarding  these  concessions.  It  was  whispered, 
and  then  talked  of  generally,  that  certain  people  in  the 
government  received  substantial  blocks  of  stock  for  ar- 
ranging the  concessions.  What  truth,  if  any,  there  was 
in  these  stories  is  hard  to  determine.  ,  The  contention 
on  the  part  of  the  oil  companies  was  that,  in  an  unknown 
field,  they  were  taking  large  risks,  and  that,  in  doing 
so,  they  were  entitled  to  liberal  treatment  for  aiding  in 
the  development  of  a  new  industry  for  the  country.) 
Not  only  was  the  territory  unknown,  but  there  was  some 
doubt  as  to  whether  the  oil  would  be  of  a  commercial 
grade  —  in  fact,  in  the  early  days  of  the  business  there 
was  considerable  question  as  to  whether  the  Mexican 
fields  would  be  worth  much.  The  business  was  almost 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  foreigiiers  so  far  as  operating 
companies  were  concerned  —  an  English  company,  two 
or  three  large  American  companies,  and  a  Dutch  com- 
pany. ^  The  business,  which  amounted  to  practically 
nothing  ten  years  ago,  developed  very  rapidly,  and  the 
production  has  reached,  already,  a  figure  of  about 
one  hundred  million  barrels  a  year.  The  Mexican 
fields,  scoffed  at  to  begin  with,  became  the  wonder  of 
the  world.  One  gusher,  the  Cerro  Azul,  produced  two 
hundred  thousand  barrels  a  day  for  some  time.  Gushers 
shot  columns  of  oil  a  thousand  feet  in  the*  air  for  days 


AGRARIAN"  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS     127 

before  they  could  be  capped,  and  at  one  well  a  fire 
burned  two  hundred  thousand  barrels  a  day  for  three 
weeks.  The  Mexican  public  was  let  in  for  a  thousand 
fake  promotions,  both  native  and  foreign,  and  this  did 
not  help  the  state  of  the  public  mind  on  the  oil  question. 
Some  Mexicans  felt  dissatisfied  that  the  mining  in- 
dustry had  passed  into  foreign  hands,  the  figures  in  the 
Mexican  year  book  for  1914  showing  that  of  the  total 
of  047  millions  of  pesos  of  capital  in  mining  enterprises 
only  29  millions  were  Mexican,  two-thirds  of  the  total 
being  American.  The  mining  development  by  foreign- 
ers was  entirely  logical,  as  Mexico  lacked  capital,  expe- 
rience and  initiative.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  certain 
amount  of  pique  because  the  greatest  industry  (except 
agriculture)  had  passed  almost  exclusively  into  foreign 
control. 

(Economic  and  industrial  conditions  both  within  and 
without  Mexico  were  dominating  factors  in  various 
industries,  but  many  Mexicans  jumped  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  foreigners  were  deliberately  exploiting  the 
people,  and  that,  in  this,  they  were  receiving  the  active 
support  of  the  government.  Diaz  had  certain  sup- 
porters, some  of  them  men  of  much  ability,  who,  with 
him,  were  anxious  to  see  foreign  capital  pour  into  the 
country  but  who  failed  to  see  that  much  of  the  progress 
being  made  was  of  a  superficial  character.^  Some  of 
these  men  had  been  active  in  the  administration  for 
many  years,  and  their  training  was  against  their  taking 
up  with  reform  ideas.  (  Some  of  them  had  doubtless 
profited  much  by  the  industrial  development.  )  As  a 
whole  the  administration  was  a  very  strongly  "  stand- 
pat  "  one.  (^ There  was  a  feeling  that  public  opinion 
amounted  to'  nothing  and  could  be  defied.  It  is  said 
that  an  American  promoter  told  a  member  of  the  cabinet 
that  if  he  would  put  through  a  certain  concession  he 


128     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

would  receive  a  hundred  thousand  pesos  and  no  one 
would  ever  be  told  of  it.  The  cabinet  member  is  alleged 
to  have  said,  "  Make  it  two  hundred  thousand  and  tell 
everybody  you  wish  to."  While  this  tale  is  doubtless 
only  a  part  of  the  idle  gossip  floating  around  the  capital, 
it  illustrates  the  general  feeling  of  the  public  mind. 
The  government  felt  strong  and  was  quite  indifi^erent 
to  public  protest.  |  Diaz  promised  some  agrarian  re- 
forms, but  nothing  tangible  resulted.  Diaz,  meanwhile, 
was  getting  old  and  leaning  more  and  more  on  his  sup- 
porters. The  Vice-President,  Ramon  Corral,  was  very 
unpopular,  and,  in  view  of  the  President's  advanced  age 
there  was  a  very  strong  movement  to  have  some  one  else 
elected  Vice-President,  but  General  Diaz  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  all  appeals  on  the  question.  Friends  of  General 
Bernardo  Reyes,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Nuevo  Leon, 
urged  his  selection  as  Vice-President,  and  the  mere  fact 
of  his  being  suggested  as  a  candidate  caused  sufficient 
friction  to  bring  about  his  retirement  from  office. 
:  Briefly,  then,  the  Diaz  government  was  charged  with 
abuse  of  power,  with  unduly  favoring  foreign  capital, 
with  permitting  the  "  Cientificos  "  to  enrich  themselves 
either  directly  from  the  public  treasury  or  indirectly 
through  participation  in  profits  arising  from  conces- 
sions, with  using  the  Federal  and  State  political  machin- 
ery to  protect  and  enrich  the  large  landowners,  and  in 
its  efforts  to  perpetuate  itself  with  defiance  of  public 
opinion.  In  many  cases  the  critics  did  not  fully  under- 
stand the  economic  conditions  responsible  for  things  of 
which  they  complained,  and  in  others  the  ills  were 
doubtless  greatly  exaggerated.  Nevertheless,  there  is 
no  question  but  that  there  was  much  abuse  of  power, 
and  that,  at  the  bottom  of  it  all,  there  was  much  reason 
for  the  belief  and  feeling  that  the  mass  of  people  was 
making  little  progress  under  the  system.'\    A  hundred 


AGRARIAN  AKD  OTHER  PROBLEMS     129 

years  earlier  Don  Manuel  Abad  y  Queipo,  subsequently 
bishop  of  Michoacan,  addressed  a  petition  to  the  Re- 
gency, in  which  he  said:  ''  This  great  mass  of  inhabit- 
ants has  practically  no  property,  and  the  great  majority 
are  homeless;  truly  they  are  in  an  abject  and  miserable 
condition,  and  destitute  of  morality  and  the  rules  of  life. 
What  can  be  the  result  of  a  revolution,  given  this  hetero- 
geneousness  of  class,  this  class  of  interests  and  passions  ? 
-Naturally,  nothing  but  reciprocal  destruction,  the  laying 
waste  of  the  whole  country.  .  .  .  The  Spanish,  Euro- 
peans and  Spanish  Americans  make  up  two-tenths  of  the 
whole  population.  They  are  the  rulers  and  the  property 
owners  throughout  these  dominions.  If  in  these  coun- 
tries, so  constituted,  public  order  should  be  disturbed, 
then  a  frightful  state  of  anarchy  must  follow."  These 
lines,  written  in  1810,  might  have  been  written  for  a 
century  later. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
MADEEO 

It  is  essential,  even  at  the  expense  of  some  repetition, 
to  very  briefly  outline  political  and  social  history  in 
Mexico  up  to  this  point.  Emerging  from  barbarism, 
the  Aztecs  had  reached  a  certain  degree  of  civilization, 
tainted  by  human  sacrifices  and  other  degrading  fea- 
tures, but  on  the  whole  indicating  an  ability  to  develop 
socially  and  politically.  While  no  alphabet  had  been 
devised,  picture  writing  had  been  developed  to  a  high 
degree.  A  massive  and  substantial  sj^stem  of  architec- 
ture showed  great  capacity  along  this  line,  and,  while 
judged  by  modern  standards,  astronomy  as  a  science  had 
only  had  a  limited  development,  astronomical  observa- 
tions and  calculations  had  been  made  with  a  surprising 
degree  of  accuracy.  Politically  the  people  were  still  in 
the  tribal  state,  but  one  tribe  dominated  a  wide  extent  of 
territory,  and  while  the  political  system  was  defective 
through  its  development  along  tribal  rather  than  along 
national  lines,  nevertheless  a  beginning  had  been  made 
in  government  on  a  wider  scope  than  that  of  purely 
tribal  rule.  The  power  and  extent  of  this  rule  have 
been,  at  times,  greatly  exaggerated,  while  some  writers 
have  been  inclined  to  minimize  the  achievements  of  the 
people,  contending  that  their  life  could  not  be  called  civ- 
ilization. One  thing  is,  however,  clear, —  that  the  early 
Mexican  people  were  thousands  of  miles  removed  from 
any  other  people,  and  consequently  not  affected  by  any 
other  civilization.     Suc^  advances  as  they  made  were 

130 


MADERO  131 

purely  their  own,  and  their  emergence  from  a  state  of 
barbarism  and  their  accomplishments  in  the  beginnings 
of  a  civilization  were  no  less  interesting  nor  less  rapid 
than  with  other  primitive  peoples.  In  other  words,  they 
had  demonstrated  an  ability  to  develop.  Their  civiliza- 
tion was  swept  away  by  the  Spanish  conquest,  and  noth^ 
ing  was  given  them  in  return  save  the  formulas  of  reli' 
gion.  They  remained  in  a  state  of  slavery,  entirely 
neglected,  for  three  hundred  years.  Independence  from 
Spanish  rule  did  not  materially  alter  their  condition, 
for,  as  a  people,  they  were  dominated  by  a  ruling  class, 
largely  of  Spanish  origin.  Forty  years  of  misrule 
under  various  dictators  was  followed  by  some  effort  at 
national  progress,  which,  again,  was  upset  by  several 
years  of  French  occupation.  National  bankruptcy  and 
chaotic  conditions  succeeded,  giving  no  opportunity  for 
progress.  Then  came  a  strong  military  dictatorship, 
gradually  transforming  into  an  oligarchy,  under  which 
there  was  railway  development,  considerable  industrial 
growth  and  some  advance  in  popular  education,  without, 
however,  any  advance  in  political  thought  or  in  the 
material  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  people. 

The  National  capital,  both  as  the  seat  of  government 
and  as  the  place  of  residence  of  many  rich  landholders, 
was  very  strongly  conservative  and  contented  with  the 
existing  order  of  things.  The  South,  especially  in  the 
tropical  part  and  with  the  exception  of  the  Oaxaca  re- 
gion, was  indifferent.  Central  Mexico  and  the  Gulf 
Coast,  depending  largely  on  the  capital,  was  generally 
conservative.  The  Pacific  coast  region  was  of  compara- 
tively small  importance.  The  North,  somewhat  isolated 
from  the  capital,  was  for  many  reasons  more  liberal  in 
its  tendencies.  The  North  was  a  grazing  country,  with 
a  wider  range  of  view.  It  was,  moreover,  more  closely 
in  touch  with  the  civilization  of  the  United  States. 


132     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

Mexicans  slipped  across  the  border,  worked  for  higher 
wages  than  they  ever  had  dreamed  of,  came  in  contact 
with  people  who  considered  schooling  the  hrst  essential 
in  life,  saw  the  opportunities  afforded  to  all  to  get  along 
in  the  world,  and,  in  general,  absorbed  many  of  the  ideas 
of  their  Xorthern  neighbors.  Moreover,  the  geogTaphi- 
cal  distance  and  the  difference  in  economic  questions 
had  so  isolated  the  ]Srorth  from  touch  with  the  capital 
that,  in  large  measure,  the  governors  and  other  political 
officials  were  far  more  independent  than  those  in  Central 
and  Southern  Mexico.  This  independence  had,  in  some 
cases,  resulted  in  a  broadening  of  political  views,  and  in 
others  in  carrying  the  abuse  of  power  to  great  excesses. 
It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  first  rumblings  of 
discontent  should  have  come  from  the  ]Srorth. 

The  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  independence  of 
Mexico  was  held  in  Mexico  City  in  1910,  and  many 
foreign  nations  sent  special  representatives  to  partici- 
pate in  the  affair.  Mexico  City  was  at  its  best,  and  a 
series  of  beautiful  entertainments,  culminating  in  a 
wonderful  ball  at  the  National  Palace,  fairly  charmed 
all  the  visitors.  General  Diaz,  in  spite  of  his  82  years, 
was  all-powerful.  The  government  was  strong,  there 
was  peace  in  the  land,  mining  and  other  industries  were 
prosperous,  national  credit,  at  home  and  abroad,  was  at 
its  highest.  To  the  visitor,  seeing  the  display  of  pomp 
and  power,  it  looked  as  if  Mexico  was  well  started  on  a 
career  of  great  prosperity.  The  idea  of  any  opposition 
to  the  Diaz  government  was  laughed  at,  and  Francisco 
Madera's  attempt  to  hold  an  opposition  convention  was 
considered  the  act  of  a  fanatic.  Madero  was  impris- 
oned at  San  Luis  Potosi  on  June  3  on  the  charge  of  sedi- 
tion and  held  four  months,  when  he  escaped  and,  dis- 
guised as  a  peon,  made  his  way  to  San  Antonio.  The 
year  finished  quietly,  with  not  a  ripple  on  the  surface. 


MADERO  133 

Madero,  a  member  of  a  rich  family  having  great 
properties  in  Kuevo  Leon  and  Coahuila,  had  been  stung 
to  the  quick  by  his  treatment,  and  spent  several  weeks 
in  San  Antonio  preparing  for  military  operations 
against  the  government.  Having  assurances  of  some 
active  support,  he  crossed  into  Mexico  on  November  10, 
and  within  two  months  he  had  a  large  following,  includ- 
ing independent  forces  organized  by  Orozco,  Blanco  and 
Villa.  Early  in  February  of  1911  Abraham  Gonzalez, 
governor  of  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  cast  his  lot  with  the 
revolutionists,  joining  them  with  the  state  troops.  The 
whole  North  was  soon  in  an  uproar.  The  revolutionists, 
starting  at  first  with  a  sort  of  guerilla  warfare,  grad- 
ually became  better  organized  and  were  able  to  conduct 
a  regular  campaign.  Events  moved  forward  with  amaz- 
ing rapidity  in  J\l^rch  and  April,  The  government,  at 
first  incredulous,  became  apprehensive,  then  panicky. 
The  revolutionist  troops,  largely  recruited  from  the 
rancher  and  cowboy  class,  could  move  light  cavalry  about 
with  great  swiftness,  capture  a  town  and  garrison,  secure 
provisions  and  munitions,  and  be  gone  before  any  body 
of  troops  could  be  moved  to  intercept  them.  The  regu- 
lar Eederal  troops  in  the  North  were  unable  to  control 
the  situation,  and  the  garrisons  of  large  cities  were  sent 
to  reenforce  them.  Eumors  of  what  was  happening  in 
the  North  swept  over  the  country,  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  Maderista  bands  began  to  spring  up  in  every 
section.  The  government  had  an  army  of  only  25,000 
men, —  a  force  which,  for  years,  had  been  sufficient  to 
preserve  order, —  and,  in  the  face  of  general  movement 
it  was  unable  to  cope  with  the  situation.  Stories  of 
battles  for  liberty  being  fought  in  the  North  traveled 
from  town  to  village  and  from  village  to  town.  There 
were  vague  promises  of  liberty,  of  land  for  all,  of  free- 
dom from  oppression.     The  tiny  spark  had  become  a 


134     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

blaze,  then  a  conflagration.  With  garrisons  withdrawn, 
the  lower  classes  rose  against  those  whom  they  consid- 
ered their  immediate  oppressors.  Excesses  of  all  sorts 
followed.  A  single  instance,  the  story  of  Gabriel  Her- 
nandez, is  typical  of  what  happened  all  over  the  country. 
Hernandez,  an  Indian  lad  24  years  of  age,  started 
with  three  men  at  the  village  of  Chig-nahuapan,  in  the 
State  of  Puebla,  to  raise  a  Maderista  band.  Within  a 
few  days  he  had  picked  up  fifteen  or  twenty  men  from 
neighboring  villages  and  had  obtained  horses  and  arms 
from  sympathizers.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  take  pos- 
session of  several  small  towns  and  villages,  and  in  each 
more  recruits  were  obtained,  and  farmers  were  induced 
to  contribute  horses  "  for  the  cause."  The  band,  all 
mounted  and  now  numbering  a  hundred  men  or  more, 
took  the  town  of  Zacatlan,  a  place  of  considerable  im- 
portance, then  occupied  Xico,  and  then  Ilanchinango, 
the  county  seat.  The  Hanchinango  jail  contained  many 
men  arrested  for  political  offenses,  and  a  number  of 
people  held  for  minor  offenses.  One  man,  held  for  a 
cold-blooded  murder,  every  one  agreed  was  a  bad  case, 
and  Hernandez  had  him  lined  up  against  a  wall  and  shot, 
the  fifteen-year-old  son  of  the  murderer's  victim  being 
given  a  rifle  to  do  the  shooting.  All  the  other  prisoners 
were  turned  loose.  With  supplies,  more  recruits  and 
more  arms  obtained  in  Hanchinango,  the  band  moved 
up  on  the  table  land  and  occupied  the  important  town  of 
Tulancingo,  the  garrison  there  being  too  small  to  offer 
resistance.  By  this  time  Hernandez  had  some  three 
hundred  followers,  mostly  mounted,  with  a  motley  col- 
lection of  arms  —  revolvers,  a  dozen  makes  of  rifles, 
shotguns,  etc.  There  were  no  uniforms,  barring  khaki 
suits  worn  by  three  or  four  ofiicers,  but  Hernandez  was 
a  born  leader,  maintained  rigid  discipline,  and  he  soon 
had  his  force  in  shape  to  advance  against  Pachuca,  a 


MADERO  135 

mining  center  of  50,000  inhabitants,  and  he  made  no 
secret  of  the  fact  that  he  intended  to  take  the  city. 

Events  in  the  capital  and  elsewhere  in  the  country  had, 
in  the  meantime,  been  moving  very  rapidly.  Madero 
had  attacked  and  taken  the  city  of  Juarez,  across  the 
Rio  Grande  from  El  Paso,  the  most  important  Mexican 
town  on  the  border.  Maderista  bands  were  springing 
up  everywhere.  The  Diaz  machine,  of  a  personal  char- 
acter, w^as  crumbling.  The  cabinet  in  the  capital  was 
in  almost  continuous  session,  and  the  messages  it  re- 
ceived from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  of  the  most 
discouraging  nature  —  towTis  taken,  small  garrisons  go- 
ing over  to  the  revolutionists,  a  Maderista  movement 
everywhere.  General  Diaz,  feeling  the  hopelessness  of 
the  situation,  decided  to  resign  in  order  to  prevent  fur- 
ther bloodshed  and  disorder.  Orders  were  sent  to  sev- 
eral of  the  governors,  including  the  governor  at  Pachuca, 
to  offer  no  further  resistance  to  the  Maderistas.  The 
Pachuca  governor,  hearing  that  Maderistas  were  to  ad- 
vance on  Pachuca,  thought  the  easiest  way  to  avoid 
trouble  would  be  to  disband  such  troops  as  he  had,  and 
these  were  accordingly  paid  off,  leaving  only  a  few  police 
to  preserve  order  in  the  city.  The  Maderistas,  however, 
did  not  appear  in  the  afternoon,  as  expected,  but  every 
one  knew  that  the  Federal  authorities  had  given  up  any 
efforts  at  resistance,  and,  as  the  city  was  strongly  Ma- 
derista, an  impromptu  jollification  started  when  some 
boys  went  through  the  main  streets  shouting  "  Viva 
Madero!"  The  jollification  soon  turned  into  an  up- 
roar, and  the  uproar  into  a  general  riot.  The  vicious 
element,  realizing  that  there  were  no  forces  to  restrain 
them,  cut  telegraph  and  telephone  wires  and  seized  the 
railway  station  to  prevent  any  communication  with 
Mexico  City,  and  then  began  pillaging  and  looting 
shops.     The  celebration  started  about  five  o'clock  in  the 


136     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEEOW 

afternoon.  By  nine  o'clock  all  the  downtown  shops  had 
been  stripped,  the  jails  had  been  opened  and  all  pris- 
oners turned  loose,  government  buildings  were  in  flames, 
and  a  night  of  terror  had  set  in.  In  the  middle  of  the 
evening  a  general  raid  was  made  on  the  cantinas,  or 
saloons,  and,  inflamed  with  liquor,  the  mob  soon  attacked 
the  oflices  of  the  large  mining  companies.  The  largest 
of  the  mining  companies  had  offices  in  a  building  erected, 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  for  use  as  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernor's palace,  and  the  place  was  practically  mob-proof. 
Here  the  majority  of  the  foreigners,  men,  women,  and 
children,  mostly  American,  spent  an  anxious  night. 
The  looters,  in  cutting  telephone  and  telegraph  lines, 
had  overlooked  a  telephone  circuit  coming  in  on  the 
high  tension  lines  which  supply  Pachuca  and  Mexico 
City  with  hydroelectric  power  from  Necaxa.  Over  this 
circuit  word  was  sent  to  the  capital  of  the  state  of  af- 
fairs. Practically  all  troops  in  Mexico  City  had  been 
sent  North.  There  was  imminent  danger  that  there 
might  be  an  outbreak  in  the  capital  at  any  moment,  and 
the  authorities  could  not  spare  any  considerable  force 
to  go  to  the  relief  of  Pachuca.  The  power  company, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  telephoned  one  of  its  trans- 
mission line  stations,  located  about  eight  miles  from 
Tulancingo,  and  dispatched  a  rider  on  horseback  to  no- 
tify Hernandez,  who,  with  his  forces,  was  in  that  town, 
to  hurry  into  Pachuca. 

Hernandez,  who  was  already  in  possession  of  the  sta- 
tion and  a  portion  of  the  rolling  stock  of  the  Pachuca- 
Tulancingo  railway,  soon  had  a  force  of  some  two  hun- 
dred men,  with  their  horses,  on  board  a  special  train 
which  hurried  forward  to  Pachuca.  The  force  was  de- 
trained in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  cavalry  clattered  into  the  center  of 
the  town.     Everything  was  in  the  wildest  disorder  — 


MADERO  137 

drunken  pelados,  burning  buildings,  window  fronts 
smashed  in,  remnants  of  discarded  loot  scattered  in  the 
streets,  every  sign  of  a  riotous  debauch.  With  the  ar- 
rival of  the  troops  the  looters  hurried  out  of  sight. 
Hernandez  sent  three  squads  of  men  to  cover  the  city, 
while  he  himself  conducted  an  inquiry  in  the  public 
square.  The  blame  for  the  starting  of  systematic  loot- 
ing was  definitely  fastened  on  one  man,  who  was  lined 
up  against  a  wall  in  the  plaza  and  shot.  One  of  Her- 
nandez' squads,  headed  by  a  strapping  Swede,  found 
looters  drilling  into  the  sides  of  the  vault  of  the  Bank  of 
Hidalgo.  The  looters  had  tried  unsuccessfully  to  force 
the  vault  doors  with  dynamite,  and  were  now  planning 
to  drill  in  on  the  sides  and  blow  the  whole  front  out. 
The  Swede  shot  the  two  men  on  the  spot,  their  blood 
spattering  on  the  vault  doors.  Hernandez  passed  the 
word  around  that  all  loot  must  be  brought  to  the  main 
p'aza,  and  that  any  one  caught  with  loot  after  six  hours 
would  be  summarily  shot.  Soon  the  plaza  was  filled 
with  a  weird  collection  of  stuff  —  sewing  machines,  dry 
goods,  groceries,  fruits,  gramophones,  saddles,  hats, 
hardware,  wines,  in  fact,  every  conceivable  sort  of  mer- 
chandise,—  and  a  hundred  or  more  merchants  were  paw- 
ing over  the  piles  trying  to  identify  their  wares.  The 
vicious  element  in  the  country  roundabout,  hearing  of 
anarchy,  began  to  pour  in,  and,  on  finding  the  to^\^l  un- 
der rigid  military  rule,  declared  they  were  Maderistas 
who  came  to  join  the  cause.  Hernandez  was  in  none 
too  strong  a  position,  but  feared  to  enlist  the  motley  mob 
with  his  troops.  He  accepted  the  recruits,  however,  as 
fast  as  they  came,  disarmed  them  and  put  them  at  work 
giving  the  city  a  much  needed  cleaning,  in  which  way, 
he  said,  they  could  best  serve  the  cause !  The  former 
Federal  troops  were  reenlisted  as  Maderistas,  the  old 
rurales  were  reengaged,  armed  companies  were  sent  out 


138     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

to  scour  the  country  for  bandits,  and,  in  a  remarkably 
short  space  of  time,  peace  and  order  were  restored  in 
the  region.  Hernandez,  starting  a  month  before  at  a 
country  village  with  three  men,  was  a  general  at  the 
head  of  a  force  of  two  thousand  mounted  men  and  a 
tliousand  foot,  controlled  the  Northern  half  of  the  State 
of  Puebla  and  held  the  whole  of  the  state  of  Hidalgo. 
His  career,  so  brilliantly  started,  came  to  an  end  during 
the  Huerta  regime.  He  was  arrested,  as  were  many 
other  Madero  officers,  and  thrown  in  the  penitentiary. 
General  Zepeda,  one  of  Huerta's  officers,  came  to  the 
penitentiary  on  March  27,  1913,  and  told  the  warden  he 
wished  to  see  Hernandez.  When  the  latter  was  brought 
in  Zepeda  shot  him  dead. 

The  story  of  Hernandez  is  the  story  of  a  hundred 
others.  Small  bands,  starting  over  night,  became  com- 
panies, regiments,  formidable  army  units,  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  space  of  time.  Unfortunately  all  the  leaders 
were  not  as  clean  as  Hernandez.  Young  men  who  had 
nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to  gain  jumped  into  posi- 
tion. Recruiting  men  was  easy.  The  bauds  could  live 
on  the  country,  requisitioning  or  "  borrowing  "  supplies, 
arms  and  horses.  There  was  a  novelty  in  the  life,  and 
none  of  the  humdrum  drudgery  of  work.  From  seizing 
needed  supplies  to  taking  luxuries  was  an  easy  step,  and 
thousands  of  men  who  had  never  had  as  much  as  ten 
dollars  at  any  one  time  found  themselves  relatively  rich. 
They  had  horses,  arms,  all  the  food  they  wanted,  money 
to  spend  —  and  no  work.  It  was  often  hard  to  distin- 
guish between  a  Maderista  and  a  plain  bandit.  Scores 
of  bands,  calling  themselves  revolutionists,  were  nothing 
more  than  bands  organized  for  looting  purposes.  They 
operated  with  the  revolutionary  forces  as  far  as  it  suited 
them.  Classed  as  supporters  of  the  cause,  no  one  was 
likely  to  call  them  to  account  for  excesses  except  the  old 


MADERO  139 

governirent,  to  them  a  symbol  of  oppression.  Tbey 
could,  with  the  revolutionists,  make  common  cause 
against  the  old  regime.  The  leaders  of  the  revolution 
were  glad  to  get  any  and  all  the  support  they  could,  and 
they  could  not  be  too  particular.  As  General  Obregon 
said,  a  couple  of  years  later,  ''  When  you  are  in  a  revo- 
lutionary fight  you  cannot  stop  to  ask  the  antecedents 
of  a  man  who  offers  to  carry  a  gun  for  you."  And  so 
the  movement,  a  real  one  at  its  base,  supported  partly 
by  patriots,  partly  by  adventurers,  and  often  by  the 
vicious,  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds  all  over  the  country. 
The  revolutionary  forces,  victorious  in  the  iSTorth,  headed 
southward.  It  was  evident  that  nothing  could  stem  the 
tide.  General  Diaz,  for  a  third  of  a  century  a  powerful 
dictator,  resigned,  left  the  capital  somewhat  hurriedly 
for  Vera  Cruz  to  sail  for  France  —  and  to  die,  sur- 
rounded by  a  few  friends  in  Biarritz,  a  few  years  later. 
The  whole  cabinet  resigned.  Francisco  de  la  Barra  was 
put  in  as  provisional  president  with  the  hope  that  a 
compromise  government  could  be  agreed  on.  Madero 
entered  the  capital  on  June  8  and  was  given  an  enthu- 
siastic reception  by  the  populace.  Large  numbers  of 
Federal  troops  came  over  voluntarily  to  the  Madero 
cause,  opposition  to  Madero's  candidacy  for  the  presi- 
dency ceased,  little  by  little  order  was  restored  in  the 
country,  and,  to  all  appearances,  troubles  were  over, 
and  the  revolution,  started  barely  six  months  before,  had 
completely  triumphed.  On  October  2  Madero  was  duly 
elected  president. 


CHAPTER  XV 
HUEETA 

Madeeo,  however,  was  not  to  have  a  peaceful  time  of 
it.  Felix  Diaz,  a  nephew  of  General  Diaz,  an  army 
man  and  for  several  years  chief  of  police  in  Mexico 
City,  had  a  considerable  army  following  and  planned  a 
revolt  to  turn  the  government  over  to  the  reactionary 
party.  He  secured  the  support  of  some  of  the  troops 
stationed  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  by  a  coup  seized  that  im- 
portant port  ten  da.js  after  Madero's  election  as  Presi- 
dent. New  troops  were  sent  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  within 
a  week  Diaz  was  made  a  prisoner,  being,  however,  sub- 
sequently released.  The  following  three  months  passed 
without  special  incident,  but  on  February  8,  1913,  part 
of  the  troops  in  Mexico  City,  led  by  General  Reyes  and 
Felix  Diaz,  revolted  and  seized  the  National  Palace. 
The  next  ten  days  are  called,  in  Mexico,  the  "  decena 
tragica,"  or  tragic  ten  days.  There  was  constant  fight- 
ing in  the  streets.  General  Huerta,  one  of  the  old  reg- 
ular army,  had  pledged  his  loyalty  to  Madero,  and,  with 
his  troops,  recaptured  the  National  Palace  and  one  or 
two  points  of  strategic  value.  During  the  attack  on  the 
palace  General  Reyes  was  killed.  Diaz  seized  the  ar- 
senal. There  followed,  then,  not  only  more  or  less  con- 
tinuous street  fighting,  but  a  bombardment,  over  the 
most  thickly  populated  portion  of  the  city,  of  the  impor- 
tant points  held  by  the  opposing  forces.  In  a  zone  a 
couple  of  miles  long  by  half  a  mile  wide  stray  shells 
killed  many  people,  including  one  American  lady,  and 

140 


HUERTA  141 

did  much  damage  to  property.  Attempts  were  made  by 
the  American  Ambassador  and  others  to  arrange  an 
armistice,  but  fighting  continued.  The  upheaval  in 
Mexico  was  soon  followed  by  trouble  elsewhere.  Out- 
breaks occurred  in  iS'uevo  Leon  and  Tamaulipas,  Diaz 
adherents  seized  Matamoras,  a  new  revolutionary  move- 
ment started  in  Chihuahua,  where  Emilio  Vasquez 
Gomez  proclaimed  himself  as  provisional  president  of 
Mexico,  and  Orozco,  one  of  the  original  revolutionary 
leaders,  seized  the  city  of  Xuevo  Laredo,  opposite  La- 
redo, Texas.  Huerta  and  Diaz,  through  the  mediation 
of  mutual  friends,  reached  some  sort  of  an  agreement, 
and  on  February  18th  fighting  in  the  city  ceased 
abruptly,  and,  simultaneously.  General  Blanco,  one  of 
Huerta's  officers,  placed  Madero  and  Pino  Suarez,  the 
Vice-President,  under  arrest  on  a  series  of  charges  of 
misuse  of  their  offices.  On  the  day  following  Huerta 
was  nominated  for  president  by  a  provisional  congress, 
the  positions  of  president  and  vice-president  being  de- 
clared vacant  through  incapacity  due  to  the  arrest  of  the 
incumbents.  To  preserve  the  form  of  legality  Huerta 
was  placed  in  the  cabinet,  and,  through  the  resignation 
of  the  acting  president  he  succeeded  to  the  office.  The 
same  day  Gustavo  Madero,  a  brother  of  the  President, 
was  called  out  of  a  down  town  restaurant,  taken  to  the 
arsenal  and  killed  by  Huerta  adherents.  The  authori- 
ties gave  assurances  that  Madero  and  Suarez  should  have 
a  fair  trial,  and  on  the  twenty-second  they  were  sent  to 
the  penitentiary  for  "  safe  keeping."  Beyond  the  fact 
that  they  were  assassinated,  just  what  happened  has 
never  been  definitely  known.  It  is  claimed  that,  on 
arrival  at  the  penitentiary,  they  were  placed  against  a 
wall  and  executed  by  the  mounted  escort.  The  Huerta 
party  claimed  that  the  escort  was  attacked  en  route  by 
soldiers  who  thought  the  prisoners  were  being  helped  to 


142     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MORROW 

escape,  and  that  in  the  melee  the  prisoners  were  acci- 
dentally shot.  This  story  was  never  believed.  There 
appears  to  be  little  doubt  but  that  the  affair  was  a  delib- 
erate assassination  with  a  view  toward  ending,  for  all 
time,  the  Madero  government.  There  are  half  a  dozen 
versions  of  the  affair  in  Mexico,  with  variations  as  to 
the  names  of  those  in  the  conspiracy,  and,  of  course, 
each  version  is  based  on  positive  information.  The 
Madero  party  believes  Huerta  was  the  prime  mover  in 
the  affair,  but  Huerta's  friends,  and  a  good  many  un- 
biased people,  believe  certain  other  reactionaries  were 
responsible. 

Madero  was  too  much  of  an  idealist  to  succeed.  Some 
of  his  acts  only  added  confusion  to  a  complicated  situa- 
tion. He  undertook,  for  instance,  to  immediately  carry 
out  a  political  promise  of  free  land  for  all.  Estates 
belonging  to  rich  cientificos  in  the  JSTorth  were  seized  and 
allotments  made  to  the  Indians.  The  peon,  with  no 
definite  idea  of  what  to  do  with  a  piece  of  land,  sought 
to  get  immediate  results  by  selling  his  allotment  to  any 
speculator  who  would  buy  it,  even  if  he  could  only  realize 
fifteen  or  twenty  pesos  in  the  transaction.  In  many 
cases,  unable  to  find  a  buyer,  he  would  offer  the  land  to 
the  former  owner  if  only  he  could  have  promise  of  work. 
Two  days  after  Madero's  triumphal  entry  into  the  cap- 
ital the  word,  or  rumor,  passed  around  that  there  would 
be  a  distribution  of  land  at  the  National  Palace  on  the 
following  morning.  Thousands  of  the  peon  class 
swarmed  to  the  palace  the  next  day,  and  bitterly  disap- 
pointed when  they  found  there  was  no  land  to  be  had, 
they  almost  mobbed  Madero's  residence.  The  whole 
land  distribution  scheme,  so  far  as  it  was  carried  out, 
was  a  dismal  failure,  satisfied  nobody,  and  only  made 
bitter  enemies  of  the  land  holding  class.  In  govern- 
ment administration  and  organization  Madero  was  weak. 


HUERTA  143 

Personally  honest,  he  was  easily  taken  in  by  friends  and 
supporters,  and  his  government  had  hardly  been  estab- 
lished before  there  were  stories  of  scandal  and  graft. 
Government  credit,  which  had  been  high,  was  seriously 
affected.  The  government,  which  had  for  some  years 
been  accumulating  a  surplus,  had  a  heavy  deficit  every 
month,  and  in  nine  months  the  cash  holdings  in  the 
National  Treasury  dropped  from  seventy-tive  million 
pesos  to  nothing.  There  were,  of  course,  more  military 
expenses  than  usual,  and  these,  combined  with  waste  and 
inefficiency,  brought  about  a  serious  financial  situation 
which  the  government  took  no  measures  to  meet.  No 
definite  policy  marked  the  acts  of  the  administration. 
Spasmodic  and  effervescent  efforts  were  made  at  re- 
forms of  practical  or  illusory  character,  but  there  was 
nothing  in  the  way  of  a  clear  program  such  as  is  particu- 
larly necessary  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos. 

The  murder  of  Madero  and  Suarez  caused  a  wave  of 
indignation  to  sweep  over  the  country,  and  a  storm  of 
protest  broke  forth  in  the  United  States,  which  declined 
to  recognize  Iluerta.  The  foreigners  resident  in  Mex- 
ico, while  deploring  the  killing  of  Madero  and  Suarez, 
saw  in  Huerta  the  chance  of  reestablishment  of  a  normal 
order  of  things.  They  had  seen  a  condition  bordering 
on  anarchy  in  the  last  days  of  the  Diaz  administration, 
due  to  the  progress  of  the  revolution.  There  had  been 
weeks  during  which  every  one  half  expected  things  to 
"  blow  up."  There  was  no  telling  when  the  capital 
might  pass  into  the  control  of  a  mob.  People  slept  with 
revolvers  under  their  pillows  and  rifles  standing  at  their 
bedsides.  The  old  government,  its  authority  vanishing, 
seemed  helpless.  The  incoming  government  had  not  yet 
demonstrated  its  ability  to  govern.  With  eighty  per 
cent,  of  the  population  illiterate  or  ignorant,  or  both, 
there  was  no  telling  what  might  happen.     The  crisis 


144     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

had  passed,  and  Madero  had  been  installed  as  president, 
but  his  government  had  not  been  of  a  character  to  inspire 
confidence.  Every  one  was  pessimistic,  and  the  foreign 
population,  in  particular,  had  suffered  from  an  attack 
of  nerves  for  a  year.  Eor  weeks  at  a  time  wild  rumors 
had  followed  each  other  so  fast  that  there  was  no  time  to 
find  out  what  the  real  situation  was.  Outbreaks  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  had  threatened  to  become 
general.  There  were  many  bands  of  brigands,  and 
travel  was  insecure.  Under  these  conditions  the  foreign 
population  and  the  wealthy  class  of  Mexicans  felt  that 
a  strong  man  was  needed,  and  that  nothing  but  a  rule  of 
iron  would  put  things  in  order.  Huerta  was  known  as 
a  strong  man,  and  it  was  believed  that  he  had  the  best 
chance  of  success.  American,  British  and  Erench  con- 
cerns doing  business  in  Mexico  sent  appeals  to  their 
home  offices,  and  the  State  Department  in  Washington 
and  the  Foreign  Offices  in  Loudon  and  Paris  were  bom- 
barded with  requests  that  Huerta  be  recognized  and 
given  any  support  necessary  to  restore  order.  The 
Washington  administration,  in  spite  of  recommenda- 
tions of  the  American  ambassador,  steadfastly  refused 
to  recognize  Huerta,  the  President  taking  the  ground 
that  the  United  States  could  not  be  a  party  to  assassina- 
tion and  usurpation  of  office. 

The  statement  has  been  repeatedly  made,  during  the 
past  five  years,  that  if  the  United  States  had  supported 
Huerta,  by  giving  him  formal  recognition,  all  the  sub- 
sequent troubles  in  Mexico  would  have  been  avoided. 
Such  an  impression  is  very  strong  in  England,  and  also 
prevails  with  the  majority  of  Americans  having  interests 
in  Mexico.  The  majority  of  Americans  resident  in 
Mexico  are  of  this  opinion.  Even  many  Mexicans  have 
assumed  that  if  Huerta  had  received  the  moral  backing 
of  the  United  States  opposition  would  have  ended,  and 


HUERTA  145 

political,  social  and  industrial  affairs  would  have  gone 
on  as  before,  A  careful  examination  of  the  situation 
does  not  seem  to  justify  this  view.  Those  on  the  ground 
who  support  this  theory  start  off  with  the  assumption 
that  the  Mexican  people  know  nothing  of  self-govern- 
ment, and  will,  consequently,  accept  any  authority  that 
is  supported  by  arms.  They  do  not  believe  that  the 
force  of  public  opinion  amounts  to  anything  in  Mexico. 
They  feel  that  the  peon  class  is  too  ignorant  to  count 
politically,  that  the  middle  class  is  entirely  indifferent, 
and  that  it  essentially  devolves  on  the  property  owning 
class  to  do  the  governing.  In  these  views  they  are  quite 
sincere  —  even  many  patriotic  Mexicans  who  have  high 
ideals.  It  is  true  that  for  centuries  the  Mexican  people 
took,  uncomplainingly,  any  form  of  government  given 
them.  It  is  also  true  that,  politically,  the  peon  class 
is  incompetent  to  take  part  in  a  governing  scheme.  It 
is  equally  true  that  the  middle  class  has,  for  many  years, 
been  indifferent  to  government  affairs,  regarding  politics 
as  a  matter  of  factional  squabbles  over  power  and 
spoils.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  a  representa- 
tive of  the  reactionary  party  could  have  made  a  success 
of  governing  the  country.  The  whole  of  Northern  Mex- 
ico was  imbued  with  liberal  ideas,  and  this  spirit  had 
seeped  through  the  whole  social  structure  of  the  coun- 
try. Some  of  the  ideas  were,  to  be  sure,  too  extreme 
to  be  practical ;  some  of  them  were  crude  and  ill-suited 
to  the  country's  economic  and  social  conditions;  and 
some  were  so  fantastic  as  to  be  ridiculous.  The  whole 
program  of  liberty  was  a  vague  one.  Nevertheless,  the 
fact  remained  that  a  revolution,  based  on  liberal  ideas, 
had  taken  place,  and  that  it  had  been  successful  in  so 
far  as  overthrowing  an  autocratic  form  of  government 
was  concerned.  Lacking  previous  political  preparation, 
the  liberal  scheme  had  not  demonstrated  its  ability  to 


146     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

manage  the  affairs  of  the  country,  but  this  did  not  mean 
that  the  liberal  sentiment  was  crushed,  or  that  it  would 
accept  without  protest  a  return  to  conditions  against 
which  it  had  rebelled.  The  middle  class,  small  as  it 
was,  had  developed  in  political  thought,  and,  as  opposed 
to  an  aristocratic  class,  it  could  always  count  on  the 
great  mass  of  people  for  support.  Huerta,  with  the 
moral  and  military  support  of  the  United  States,  could, 
in  a  short  time,  have  controlled  the  country,  but  Huerta, 
backed  solely  by  moral  support,  would  have  had  a  very 
hard  time  of  it.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  refusal  of 
the  United  States  to  give  him  recognition  helped, 
through  giving  his  enemies  encouragement,  to  precipi- 
tate matters. 

It  is  hardly  probable,  however,  that  a  new  outbreak 
would  have  been  long  postponed.  The  fact  cannot  be 
overlooked  that,  throughout  the  country,  there  had  been 
an  insistent  demand  for  a  change:  a  demand  made  by 
people  having  no  political  organization,  no  military  sup- 
port, and  no  voice  in  government  affairs ;  nevertheless,  a 
demand  so  strong  as  to  have  formed  the  base  for  a  suc- 
cessful revolution.  Making  all  due  allowance  for  per- 
sonal equations,  ambition,  greed,  cupidity  and  igno- 
rance, the  movement  had  moral  force  back  of  it,  and 
this  force,  sooner  or  later,  would  have  asserted  itself. 
To  be  sure,  if  Huerta  had  continued  in  power  and  made 
drastic  reforms  he  doubtless  would  have  met  with  suc- 
cess, but  his  associations  and  the  manner  of  his  coming 
into  power  gave  no  promise  of  a  liberal  scheme,  but 
rather  fixed  him,  in  the  public  mind,  as  an  advocate  of 
strong  reactionary  rule. 

The  rapidity  with  which  opposition  sprang  up  is  good 
evidence  in  support  of  the  above  argument.  Two  days 
after  Madero  and  Suarez  were  killed,  Huerta  was  de- 
nounced at  Saltillo  by  General  Vemistiano  Carranza, 


HUERTA  147 

one  of  Madero's  supporters,  and  Carranza's  attitude  was 
soon  endorsed  bj  many  leaders.  Governor  Gonzalez, 
of  Chihualiua,  who  failed  to  recognize  Huerta,  was 
placed  under  arrest,  sent  under  escort  to  the  capital  but 
murdered  en  route.  There  were  outbreaks  in  Sonora, 
iSTuevo  Leon,  Coaliuila  and  Sinaloa.  Within  two  weeks 
Carranza,  supported  by  Jesus  Carranza,  Pablo  Gonzalez, 
Salinas  and  others,  had  eight  or  ten  thousand  men  in  the 
field.  In  another  week  Alvaro  Obregon,  a  well-to-do 
rancher  and  friend  of  Carranza,  had  another  force  in 
the  field  and  attacked  and  took  the  town  of  Nogales. 
It  would  be  tedious  to  go  into  the  details  of  the  cam- 
paign, or  series  of  campaigns,  which  followed.  There 
were  defeats  and  victories  on  both  sides.  The  whole 
Northern  half  of  Mexico  was  the  battlefield.  The  en- 
gagements frequently  were  of  small  importance,  but 
collectively  they  made  for  the  steady  progress  of  the 
revolutionary  party,  now  called  the  Constitutionalists. 
There  were  incidents  which  gave  variety  to  the  war. 
The  Yaqui  Indians  went  on  the  warpath  on  their  own 
hook,  and  attacked  both  Constitutionalists  and  Federals. 
Zapata,  who,  in  the  state  of  Morelos,  had  started  a  revo- 
lution simultaneously  with  the  start  of  the  Madero  revo- 
lution and  who  had,  for  two  years,  dominated  the  states 
of  Morelos  and  Guerrero,  at  various  times  acted  with 
the  Carranzistas  and  at  other  times  with  the  Federals. 
Pascual  Orozco,  one  of  the  original  Madero  officers, 
operated  for  a  time  with  Zapata,  fell  out  with  him  and 
was  executed.  Francisco  Villa  was  a  Constitutionalist 
supporter  but  a  difficult  and  erratic  one  to  handle.  The 
strong  personal  elements  presented  many  difficulties. 
Many  of  the  bands,  as  in  the  Madero  revolution,  were 
simply  squads  of  brigands,  and  their  excesses  caused 
serious  situations,  particularly  in  cases  affecting  for- 
eigners.    In  spite  of  numerous  troubles  the  Constitu- 


148     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

tionalists  made  headway.  The  forces  under  Pablo  Gon- 
zalez and  Obregun  were  solidilied  and  were  able  to  make 
a  deiinite  offensive  against  the  Federals. 

The  Washington  administration  had,  in  the  meantime, 
advised  all  Americans  to  leave  Mexico,  and  large  num- 
bers had  left.  The  American  government  sent  special 
representatives  to  Mexico  City,  but  nothing  definite  re- 
sulted. Spain  had  given  lluerta  early  recognition, 
and  Great  Britain  had  followed  it,  but  Washington  stood 
by  its  determination  not  to  give  formal  recognition. 
Huerta,  in  addition  to  military  opposition,  was  having 
no  easy  time  of  it.  Dominguez,  a  member  of  the  Senate, 
made  a  speech  openly  attacking  him,  and,  when  Domin- 
guez disappeared  and  w^as  reported  to  have  been  assas- 
sinated, the  Senate  demanded  an  investigation.  One 
hundred  and  ten  senators  were  then  arrested  and  placed 
in  jail  and  kept  there  for  some  time.  Warships  were 
sent  by  various  foreign  governments  to  Mexican  ports. 
Huerta,  in  need  of  funds,  floated  an  internal  loan  of 
ten  million  pesos,  a  delicate  hint  being  given  to  each 
large  concern  to  subscribe  a  certain  amount.  In  the 
midst  of  all  the  trouble  and  turmoil  a  picturesque  fea- 
ture was  added  when  Zapata  made  the  announcement 
that  as  soon  as  he  and  his  principals  triumphed  he  would 
exclude  all  foreigners  from  the  country,  tear  up  the 
railroads,  and  return  to  primitive  conditions.  Felix 
Diaz  tried  to  "  start  something  "  and  had  to  flee  from 
the  country.  Through  the  fall  of  1913  and  in  the  win- 
ter of  1914  some  efforts  were  made  by  the  United  States 
to  effect  an  arrangement  between  the  opposing  parties, 
but  both  sides  were  indisposed  to  negotiate.  Carranza 
insisted  throughout  that  he  would  agree  to  no  foreign 
interference  in  IMexican  affairs.  Huerta,  on  his  part, 
was  much  offended  because  of  the  failure  to  recognize 


HUEKTA  149 

him,  and  felt  that  the  Aiaerican  government  was  hostile. 
In  March  the  Carranza  forces,  by  this  time  fairly 
dominant  in  the  North,  began  pushing  a  campaign  into 
Central  Mexico.  An  incident  in  Tampico,  growing  out 
of  the  arrest,  by  Federal  officers,  of  some  tlnited  States 
marines,  brought  a  demand,  in  April,  for  an  apology. 
Huerta  apologized,  but  refused  to  have  the  American 
flag  saluted.  An  American  fleet  then  shelled  the  de- 
fenses of  Vera  Cruz,  landed  forces,  and  on  April  21, 
1914,  occupied  the  city.  There  was  some  hard  lighting 
for  a  short  time,  thirty  American  marines  and  sailors 
losing  their  lives,  while  the  Mexican  losses,  military  and 
civil,  due  largely  to  shelling  a  portion  of  the  city  where 
the  arsenal  was  located,  were  over  three  hundred.  The 
occupation  of  Vera  Cruz  caused  intense  excitement  and 
much  bitter  feeling,  especially  in  Mexico  City.  jSTearly 
all  American  residents  left  for  the  Coast,  and  all  be- 
lieved that  armed  intervention  in  Mexico  was  at  hand. 
Matters  dragged  for  some  weeks,  but  finally  a  proposal 
was  made  that  Argentine,  Brazil  and  Chile  should  act 
jointly  to  mediate  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States,  and  the  American  and  Mexican  (Huerta)  gov- 
ernments accepted  the  offer.  Huerta  proposed  an  arm- 
istice with  the  Carranza  forces  pending  the  result  of  the 
so-called  A.  B.  C.  negotiations,  but  the  latter,  while 
declaring  his  protests  against  the  presence  of  American 
forces  in  Mexico,  declined  to  have  this  condition  used 
as  a  basis  for  the  settlement  of  internal  affairs.  The 
Carranza  forces  were,  by  this  time  (July)  making  rapid 
headway.  Huerta  finally  made  up  his  mind  that,  be- 
tween internal  and  external  troubles,  his  situation  was 
hopeless,  and  on  the  fifteenth  of  July  he  left  Mexico 
City,  going  to  Puerto  Mexico,  from  which  port  he  em- 
barked with  his  family  for  Spain,  on  board  the  German 


150     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

cruiser  Dresden  (now  sunk).  Huerta  spent  a  year  or 
more  ^abroad  and  then  came  to  the  United  States,  was 
arrested  on  the  border  on  charges  of  conspiring  to  start 
a  revolution,  and  died  before  his  case  came  to  trial. 


CHAPTEK  XVI 
CAEKANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA 

The  Federals,  on  Huerta's  departure,  ceased  serious 
opposition  to  the  Constitutionalist  cause,  and  within  a 
month  General  Obregon  occupied  the  capital.  Felix 
Diaz,  who  had  returned  to  the  country,  announced  that 
he  would  start  a  new  revolution.  In  the  Xorth  Mayto- 
rena  led  an  uprising  in  Sonora.  Obregon  and  Villa, 
sent  to  suppress  the  outbreak,  fell  out,  and  Villa  placed 
Obregon  under  arrest.  Obregon  managed,  however,  to 
escape  and  return  to  Mexico  City,  while  Villa,  after 
announcing  himself  as  dictator  of  jS'orthern  Mexico, 
declared  war  on  the  Constitutionalists,  so  that,  five  weeks 
after  the  latter  had  occupied  Mexico  City,  they  had  a 
new  revolution  on  their  hands.  Leaders  in  Mexico  City 
called  a  national  convention,  to  meet  at  Agiias  Calientes, 
partly  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  permanent  govern- 
ment and  partly  to  secure,  if  possible,  a  union  of  all 
parties  in  a  new  program.  The  convention  met  on  Oc- 
tober eighteenth.  Villa,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  of 
light  cavalry,  swept  down  unexpectedly  from  the  North, 
and  overawed^he  convention,  which  resulted  in  the  for- 
mation of  a  Villa-Zapata  party  called  the  Convention- 
alists. 

The  Constitutionalists,  meanwhile,  had  organized  a 
government  in  the  capital.  One  of  their  first  acts  was 
to  ask  the  United  States  to  withdraw  its  troops  from 
Vera  Cruz,  which  was  evacuated  by  the  American  forces 
on  November  23rd.     The  Belgian  minister  was  given 

151 


152     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AXD  TO-MOEROW 

his  passports  as  the  result  of  a  commuaication  which 
otfended  the  government.  Sir  Lionel  Garden,  the  Brit- 
ish Minister,  who  had  advocated  the  support  of  Huerta, 
left  the  country.  The  government  took  over  the  opera- 
tion of  the  iSTational  Eailways,  partly  for  military  rea- 
sons and  partly,  doubtless,  as  a  source  of  income.  At 
the  same  time  the  government  took  possession  of  the 
tramways  system  in  Mexico  City. 

The  Constitutionalists,  threatened  by  the  Zapata 
forces  from  the  South  and  Villa  forces  from  the  North, 
decided  to  evacuate  Mexico  City,  and  withdrew  on  No- 
vember twenty-fifth,  going  to  Vera  Cruz,  which  then 
became  their  headquarters.  A  serio-comic  incident  con- 
nected with  the  evacuation  was  that  General  Obregon, 
wishing  to  embarrass  the  Villa-Zapata  combination  as 
much  as  possible,  and  also  to  cut  off  a  source  of  revenue, 
took  the  controller  boxes  off  from  all  the  street  cars, 
and  shipped  them  to  Vera  Cruz,  completely  tying  up  the 
operation  of  the  street  railway  system. 

Mexico  City,  during  the  next  two  months,  witnessed 
a  series  of  political  and  military  shifts  probably  never 
equaled  in  history.  Zapata  occupied  the  city  on  No- 
vember twenty-fifth,  his  army  marching  in  from  the 
south  as  Obregon  withdrew  his  troops  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  city.  The  Zapata  forces  consisted  of  recruits 
from  the  farming  class  in  the  State  of  Morelos.  Few 
of  his  soldiers  had  ever  been  in  a  large  city  before. 
They  were  people  of  the  most  primitive  type,  who,  for 
four  years,  had  been  carrying  on  a  bandit  warfare  in 
Morelos.  They  had  looted  every  large  hacienda  in 
the  state,  where  Zapata,  a  wild  and  picturesque  dictator, 
had  held  complete  sway.  They  had  declared  open  en- 
mity against  the  railroads,  and  had  wrecked  train  after 
train  between  Mexico  City  and  Cuernavaca,  killing 
scores  of  passengers.     They  had  been  responsible  for 


CAREANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        153 

so  much  looting  and  slaughter  that  their  advance  on  the 
city  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  Constitutionalist  troops 
threw  the  public  in  the  wildest  sort  of  panic.  Every 
one  wanted  to  Hee,  but  there  were  no  transportation  fa- 
cilities. Service  on  the  Vera  Cruz  line  was  interrupted, 
and  Obregon  had  taken  the  rolling  stock  of  the  Pachuca 
line  to  move  his  troops.  Many  of  the  private  auto- 
mobiles had  been  commandeered,  or  simply  taken,  by 
the  military.  Besides,  the  shift  had  come  so  quickly 
that  there  was  no  time  to  leave,  and,  before  the  majority 
of  people  realized  what  was  happening,  the  Zapatistas 
were  in  full  occupation  of  the  city.  Much  of  the  terror 
produced  by  the  mere  mention  of  the  Zapatistas  proved 
to  have  been  groundless.  There  was  much  less  violence 
and  disorder  than  had  been  expected ;  in  fact,  the  city 
was  rather  more  orderly  than  it  had  been.  The  Zapa- 
tistas were  seemingly  more  or  less  overawed  by  their 
surroundings,  and,  on  the  whole,  behaved  themselves 
fairly  well.  There  was  no  looting  of  shops  or  private 
houses,  and  such  automobiles  as  remained  in  the  city 
were  not  molested,  few  of  the  "  Zaps  "  understanding 
anything  of  the  intricacies  of  the  insides  of  a  motor 
car.  Horses  were  legitimate  loot.  One  w^ealthy  Mex- 
ican, a  great  polo  player,  saved  his  string  of  polo  ponies 
by  quartering  them  in  a  small  dwelling  house  adjoining 
his  own  property,  supplying  them  for  weeks  with  food 
from  a  temporary  entrance,  concealed  by  shrubbery, 
cut  through  the  wall  into  his  own  yard.  The  ''  Zaps  " 
felt,  that  anything  found  in  government  property  was 
fair  spoil,  and  their  fancy  usually  ran  to  showy  odds 
and  ends  —  bits  of  brocade,  strips  of  enameled  leather 
cut  from  heavy  chairs,  bronze  or  brass  electric  light 
fixtures,  gilded  picture  frames,  cut  glass  chandeliers, 
and  the  like.  There  were  many  incongruities,  with 
barefooted  soldiers  in  pajama-like  cotton  suits  standing 


154:     MEXICO  TO-DAY  x\ND  TO-MOEKOW 

guard  iu  the  gorgeously  furnished  reception  rooms  in 
the  elaborate  government  department  buildings,  and 
picturesque  olhcers  amusing  themselves  by  riding  up 
and  down  elevators  in  office  buildings.  Thinking  it 
was  some  new  type  of  war  machine,  a  squad  of  soldiers 
opened  fire  on  a  fire  engine  responding  to  a  call,  and 
killed  several  of  the  crev/.  The  shelves  of  the  National 
Library  were  stripped  of  half  their  books,  to  be  sold 
to  second-hand  bookstalls  for  what  they  v/ould  bring. 
Elaborate  silk  and  brocade  hangings  were  cut  from  the 
walls  of  the  JSTational  Palace  and  sold  to  dealers  in  an- 
tiques. The  general  hostility  to  foreigners  was  evi- 
denced in  the  complete  wreckage  of  furniture  and  fur- 
nishings at  the  Country  Club,  just  outside  the  city, 
which  was  used  as  Zapatista  headquarters  before  entry 
into  the  city. 

The  first  shock  of  the  Zapatista  occupation  over, 
people  settled  down  to  make  the  best  of  matters.  Ten 
days  later  Villa  entered  the  city  with  a  large  force 
and  was  soon  wrangling  with  Zapata  over  the  latter's 
suggestion  that  Emilio  Vasquez  Gomez  should  be 
named  President.  The  Zapata  forces,  withdrawn  from 
the  city  the  first  of  December  to  engage  the  Con- 
stitutionalists, met  with  defeats  toward  the  end  of  the 
month,  and  on  January  nineteenth  Villa,  having  in- 
sufficient forces  to  hold  the  city  against  the  advancing 
Constitutionalist  army,  abandoned  the  capital.  In  the 
meanwhile  Gutierrez,  installed  as  provisional  president 
by  a  combination  of  different  elements  in  the  city,  in- 
cluding Villa,  had  refused  to  be  Villa's  tool  and  had 
had  to  flee,  being  succeeded  by  Roque  Gonzalez  Garza. 
The  latter  now  attempted  to  reach  some  arrangement 
with  Carranza,  but,  the  negotiations  failing,  he  left  the 
city,  Obregon,  with  the  Constitutionalist  troops,  reenter- 
ing on  January  twenty-eighth.     The  next  few  weeks 


CAKRANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        155 

passed  without  special  event  in  the  capital,  but  there 
was  much  fighting  all  over  the  country,  especially  in  the 
North.  General  Jesus  Carranza,  one  of  the  original 
supporters  of  the  Constitutionalists,  was,  with  his  son, 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  Villistas,  and  father  and 
son  were  executed.  Gabriel  Salinas,  one  of  those  re- 
sponsible for  his  death,  was  later  captured  and  executed. 
Villa  proclaimed  himself  dictator  for  all  of  Mexico, 
and,  with  a  large  force  supporting  him,  he  threatened 
to  make  his  claim  good.  Obregon,  needing  all  his 
troops  for  the  I^orth,  and  threatened  from  the  South 
by  the  Zapatistas,  on  March  eleventh,  again  evacuated 
Mexico  City,  the  "  Zaps  "  marching  in  and  assuming 
control  of  affairs.  The  seat  of  government  continued 
to  be  in  Vera  Cruz,  from  which  point  General  Carranza 
directed  the  campaign.  The  Constitutionalist  armies, 
led  by  Obregon,  Gonzales  and  Trevino,  had  the  great 
advantage  that  they  were  acting  in  a  common  cause  and 
were  loyal  to  one  chief,  while  their  opponents,  Villistas, 
Zapatistas  and  other  "  istas  "  were  running  more  or  less 
individual  affairs  and  unlikely  to  act  in  unison.  The 
campaign  was  pushed  through  the  Spring  and  early 
Summer  of  1915.  Obregon,  operating  in  the  North, 
defeated  Villa  forces  in  many  skirmishes  and  some 
heavy  fighting,  Trevino  dislodged  Villa  troops  from  im- 
portant points  in  Tamaulipas  and  Nuevo  Leon,  and 
Gonzalez,  by  a  long  series  of  operations,  secured  control 
of  all  the  territory  surrounding  Mexico  City.  On  July 
tenth  the  Zapatistas  evacuated  the  city,  and  the  Consti- 
tutionalists again  took  possession. 

Affairs  in  the  capital  had  been  going  from  bad  to 
worse.  Business  was  suspended  and  factories  closed ; 
no  work  was  to  be  had ;  thousands  of  people  had  starved 
to  death;  there  were  epidemics;  governments  had  suc- 
ceeded governments  so  rapidly  that  people  were  dazed ; 


156     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

the  wildest  rumors  were  current  every  day ;  each  faction 
had  celebrated  its  days  of  control  by  executions  of  peo- 
ple accused  of  treason,  conspiracy  or  sedition;  railway 
service  had  been  interrupted,  for  weeks  at  a  time;  even 
the  richest  people  had  had  a  bad  time  of  it,  having  to 
sacrifice  jewels  and  other  possessions  to  obtain  funds 
with  which  to  buy  food ;  most  of  the  foreigners  had  left ; 
travel  by  motor  car  or  to  outlying  towns  had  been  peril- 
ous, frequently  involving  going  through  the  lines  of 
opposing  factions:  in  fact,  life  itself  had  been  very 
uncertain. 

With  such  conditions  prevailing  in  the  city,  and  gen- 
eral uncertainty  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome  of  affairs, 
the  situation  in  rural  districts  was  even  worse.  The 
general  disorder  had  largely  stopped  or  cut  down  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  Food  was  scarce,  and  labor  could 
find  no  work.  The  man  with  a  gun  could  take  food 
away  from  the  man  who  had  no  gun.  In  a  considerable 
degree  brigandage  was  a  natural  consequence  of  the 
state  of  affairs.  Many  joined  bands  purely  as  a  mat- 
ter of  existence.  A  band  strong  enough  to  overcome 
the  ordinary  force  at  a  ranch  or  hacienda  could  at  least 
obtain  a  supply  of  corn.  In  the  absence  of  any  estab- 
lished government,  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  kill  if  any 
resistance  were  offered,  as  there  was  no  danger  of  re- 
tributive justice.  In  various  sections  the  strongest  of 
the  bands  dominated,  levied  tribute  on  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  ran  affairs  with  a  high  hand.  All  the  bands 
called  themselves  something  or  other,  sometimes  Con- 
stitutionalists, sometimes  Villistas,  sometimes  Zapatis- 
tas, more  often  after  the  name  of  some  local  leader.  A 
force  of  some  three  hundred  men,  calling  themselves 
liberalists,  surrounded  the  Suchi  Lumber  Company's 
property  in  the  State  of  Mexico  and  demanded  ten  thou- 
sand pesos  "  for  the  cause."     The  written  demand  said 


CARRANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        157 

that  they  came  as  friends,  but  that,  in  the  event  of  re- 
fusal, they  would  come  into  tlie  camp  with  sword  and 
firebrand,  and  the  signature  of  the  ''  general "  com- 
manding was  followed  by  the  words  '^  Liberty,  Consti- 
tution and  Justice  !  "  Many  towns  in  the  rural  districts 
had  had  more  changes  in  administration  than  the  cap- 
ital, and  each  change  usually  involved  some  new  levy  of 
taxes.  Even  with  the  organized  movements  there  was 
little  or  no  effort  made  to  gather  taxes  systematically. 
Local  leaders  raised  what  they  could  to  provision  their 
forces.  This  naturally  resulted  in  great  abuses,  as 
many  unscrupulous  officers  took  advantage  of  the  situa- 
tion to  graft  right  and  left.  Leaders  who  had  a  strong 
following  did  not  stop  at  petty  grafting.  They  seized 
whole  estates  and  appropriated  all  the  proceeds  from  the 
sale  of  products.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  half 
the  large  haciendas  —  farms,  ranches  or  rural  estates 
—  were,  at  one  time  or  another,  operated  by  people  who 
had  no  possible  claim  to  them.  The  Constitutionalists, 
as  a  government,  set  a  bad  example.  Properties  be- 
longing to  "  Cientificos  "  were  liable  to  denouncement 
and  subject  to  public  administration,  doubtless  on  the 
theory  that  they  represented  ill-gotten  wealth  of  public 
.  enemies.  The  government  "  intervened  "  in  these  prop- 
erties and  leased  them,  frequently  at  purely  nominal  fig- 
ures. Buildings  and  presses  belonging  to  newspapers 
of  "  Cientifico  "  tendencies  were  "  intervened  "  and 
loaned  to  men  who  would  run  newspapers  friendly  to 
the  government.  Private  residences,  rural  estates  and 
office  buildings  were  taken  over  by  the  score.  The 
government  did  not  claim  ownership  of  such  proper- 
ties, but  only  that  of  administration  until  their  status 
should  be  determined  by  legal  procedure.  The  number 
of  "  intervened  "  properties  was  so  large  that  a  special 
administrator  was  attached  to  the  National  Treasury 


158     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

to  take  care  of  this  particular  work.  The  policy  of 
the  government  was,  doubtless,  partly  responsible  for 
the  fact  that  many  local  leaders  seized  things  "  on  their 
own  hook  "  without  the  formality  of  government  action. 
In  some  cases  the  owners  of  properties  were  quite  satis- 
fied to  have  them  seized  by  leaders  with  strong  back- 
ing, as  this  was  a  protection  against  looting  and  wanton 
destruction.  The  property  of  foreigners  was,  as  a  rule, 
respected,  and  houses  with  American  tenants  were  not 
likely  to  be  disturbed.  During  1915,  with  the  Zapata- 
Villa-Obregon  changes  in  Mexico  City,  a  number  of 
Americans  were  offered  large  city  houses  rent  free  if 
they  would  only  occupy  them. 

Abuses  of  this  sort  brought  much  discredit  on  the 
government,  and  made  foreigners  feel  entirely  hopeless 
about  the  situation.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  the  people  had  never  had  any  experience  in  govern- 
ment and  were  totally  unprepared  to  set  up  a  new  or- 
ganization to  take  the  place  of  the  dictatorship  they  had 
overthrown.  As  a  result  chaotic  conditions  and  excesses 
of  all  sorts  followed  the  first  successes.  The  govern- 
ment, just  come  into  being,  was  not  strong  enough  to 
control  many  of  its  own  petty  leaders.  It  had,  more- 
over, to  deal  with  a  certain  class  of  supporters^  who  were 
using  the  cause  for  their  own  ends.  It  needed  all  the 
support  it  could  get  until  it  could  be  established  on  a 
sound  basis,  and  it  had  to  put  up  with  all  sorts  of  acts 
until  that  time  could  be  reached. 

In  the  rural  districts  far  away  from  the  large  cen- 
ters conditions  were  particularly  bad.  The  majority 
of  the  well-to-do  class  moved,  for  safety,  to  the  N"ational 
Capital.  A  rural  estate  or  remote  mining  plant,  threat- 
ened with  a  raid  by  bandits,  had  no  one  to  call  on  for 
help.     A  few  American  mining  men  in  these  remote 


CAKKANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        159 

camps  stuck  it  out  a  long  time,  and  their  lives,  day  after 
day,  were  full  of  excitement  and  adventure. 

The  simple  tale  of  a  little  American  girl  of  eight, 
overheard  as  she  told  it  to  a  friend  a  year  later,  gives 
an  idea  of  what  was  involved  in  trying  to  keep  going 
under  difficult  conditions.  "  One  day  a  lot  of  bandits 
rode  into  the  camp,"  she  said.  "  ]\iama  and  I  were 
alone  in  the  house  and  when  they  came  up  mama 
gave  them  something  to  eat,  and  they  went  away.  Then 
they  came  back  and  got  papa  at  his  office,  and  took  him 
away  with  them,  and  mama  was  terribly  scared. 
They  wanted  a  lot  of  money  to  let  papa  go,  and  we 
didn't  have  any,  only  a  very  little.  They  took  papa  to 
the  hills  but  after  a  while  he  got  away  and  came  back 
all  right.  Then  some  other  bandits  came  later,  and 
they  were  going  to  kill  everybody.  We  had  two  mozos 
(servants)  who  knew  where  there  were  some  big  caves 
we  could  hide  in,  and  we  went  to  these  caves  and  stayed 
there.  I  think  we  were  there  three  weeks.  The  mozos 
went  into  camp  each  night  and  brought  us  food.  My 
pony  got  away  from  the  cave  and  I  was  afraid  the 
bandits  had  him.  Well,  after  a  while  the  bandits  left 
that  part  of  the  country  and  we  came  back.  My  pony 
had  come  to  the  camp.  My,  I  was  glad  to  see  him. 
Well,  we  stayed  there  a  long  time,  but  bandits  kept 
coming  and  going,  and  papa  could  not  send  any  ores 
away  from  the  mine,  so  at  last  we  came  away.  And 
our  mozos  cried  when  we  left." 

Bandits  frequently  raided  large  towns,  and  some  of 
the  bands  were  large  enough  to  carry  out  a  raid  on  a 
large  city.  There  was  no  telling  when  they  might  ap- 
pear. In  Pachuca  the  mines,  unable  for  a  time  to 
make  shipments,  accumulated  a  large  amount  of  bul- 
lion.    The   country   roundabout  was  full   of   bandits. 


160     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

The  manager  of  one  of  tli6  large  mining  companies,  in 
fear  for  the  bullion  and  knowing  that  any  attempt  to 
conceal  it  would  be  useless,  buried  it  in  a  bed  of  con- 
crete several  feet  thick.  If  raided,  he  could  say  where 
the  bullion  was,  and  hope  the  process  of  digging  it 
out  would  give  time  to  secure  assistance.  Fortunately, 
there  was  no  raid,  but  it  later  took  the  company  two 
days  to  dig  the  bullion  out. 

Some  thirty  foreigners,  cooped  up  in  Toluca  in  the 
fall  of  1915,  hearing  that  conditions  in  the  capital  were 
tolerable,  decided  to  make  the  trip,  and  asked  a  "  Zap  " 
colonel  to  send  them  through  on  one  of  the  military 
trains.  The  colonel  demanded  a  hundred  dollars  in 
gold,  but  as  the  party  had  nothing  but  paper  money 
he  agreed  to  accept  a  check  from  one  of  the  men.  The 
train  started,  climbed  the  high  divide  which  separates 
the  Toluca  and  Mexico  valleys,  and  had  started  down 
the  other  side  when  the  advance  guard  of  the  main 
*'  Zap  "  army  was  met,  and  it  was  learned  that  the 
''  Zaps  "  had  evacuated  the  city  and  that  their  retreat 
was  being  closely  followed  up  by  the  Constitutionalists. 
The  colonel  in  charge  of  the  train  then  said  he  must 
take  the  train  back,  as  he  dared  not  risk  losing  the 
engine,  so  he  left  the  foreigners  at  a  bleak  little  station 
near  the  top  of  the  grade  and  pulled  out  for  Toluca. 
Incidentally  he  returned  the  check  for  a  hundred  dol- 
lars. The  party  saw  a  fiat  car  on  the  siding  and  de- 
cided to  chance  a  coasting  trip  on  it  down  into  the 
valley.  The  whole  party,  including  six  women,  ac- 
cordingly boarded  the  flat  car,  released  the  brakes  and 
started  down  the  grade.  The  car  got  going  so  fast 
that  those  on  board  could  not  stop  it,  and  as  they  shot 
around  a  bend  they  discovered,  to  their  horror,  that 
the  "  Zaps  "  were  marching  along  and  on  the  railroad 
track.     They  shot  through  a  body  of  two  or  three  thou- 


CARRANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        161 

sand  men,  troops  on  the  track  scrambling  off  just  in 
time,  miraculously  going  through  without  a  scratch. 
When  the  "  Zaps  "  recovered  from  the  surprise  of  the 
wild  car  plunging  down  hill  they  began  tiring  at  it,  but 
no  one  was  hurt.  Farther  down  more  troops  were 
passed,  and  these  were  busy  exchanging  a  desultory 
fire  with  Constitutionalist  troops  harassing  them  from 
the  hillside  above  them.  The  car  shot  along,  went 
through  the  straggling  lines  of  the  Carranza  forces,  and 
finally  was  brought  to  a  stop  in  front  of  a  large  ha- 
cienda in  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  The  wild  ride 
was  over,  and  the  passengers,  half  scared  to  death,  were 
glad  to  seek  refuge  in  the  hacienda,  from  which,  later, 
they  made  their  way  into  town. 

These  incidents  give  some  idea  of  the  conditions 
people  lived  in.  Worst  of  all,  perhaps,  was  the  entire 
uncertainty  of  things.  People  who  had  stuck  through 
it  for  months  would,  finally,  on  the  strength  of  some 
new  rumor,  decide  to  leave  the  country.  The  control 
of  any  one  party  rarely  extended  over  a  zone  long 
enough  to  permit  any  through  railway  service  to  the 
border,  but  sometimes,  by  a  combination  of  round- 
about routes,  it  was  possible  to  get  through.  So  a  start 
would  be  made,  only  to  wander  around  a  few  days  in 
out-of-the-way  places  and  then  find  that,  since  starting, 
conditions  had  changed  and  some  essential  section  of 
the  route  blocked.  Then  a  new  combination  would  be 
tried,  perhaps  successfully.  Railway  travel  was  peril- 
ous. On  the  Vera  Cruz  line  the  Zapatistas  wrecked  a 
freight  train  and  started  some  of  the  cars  coasting  down 
hill.  The  wild  cars  smashed  into  an  upbound  passenger 
train,  which,  with  four  hundred  passengers,  was  thrown 
off  the  track  and  toppled  over  the  edge,  to  tumble  down 
a  thousand  feet  or  more  into  the  bottom  of  the  gorge. 
Trains,  in  spite  of  strong  escorts  on  pilot  trains  ahead, 


162     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

were  repeatedly  blown  up  with  dynamite.  Shooting 
at  trains  was  common,  and  several  times  trains  carry- 
ing escorts  of  a  hundred  men  or  more  were  attacked 
by  bandit  gangs.  Travel  was  dangerous,  and  staying 
home  involved  living  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  and  anx- 
iety. But  in  many  respects  life  went  on  as  usual  in  the 
capital.  People  played  golf,  although  the  country 
around  the  golf  course  was  full  of  bandits.  One  golfer, 
at  least,  was  held  up  on  the  course,  and  as  he  had  no 
valuables  on  him  the  bandits  took  his  clothes  and  left 
him  to  wander  back  to  the  clubhouse  in  his  underwear. 
Much  of  the  brigandage  was  not  particularly  vicious. 
The  bandits  needed  money  for  food,  or  wanted  bits  of 
jewelry  or  other  baubles.  Foreigners  who  knew  the 
language  and  understood  the  people  generally  came 
through  safely,  but  real  danger,  plus  uncertainty,  put 
all  nerves  on  edge.  The  worst  sufferers  were  the 
wealthy  Mexicans,  who,  in  many  cases,  were  stripped 
of  everything  they  owned. 

The  Zapatistas  seized  the  Eeforma  mine  in  the  State 
of  Guerrero,  and  coined  the  bullion  taken  from  the 
smelter  into  silver  pesos.  These  pieces  circulated  freely 
for  a  time  until  some  one  discovered  that  the  coins 
carried  a  large  percentage  of  gold  and  were  worth, 
intrinsically,  more  than  double  their  face  value.  Paper 
money  of  all  sorts.  Constitutionalist  and  Villista,  and 
issues  of  half  a  dozen  state  governments,  appeared  and 
disappeared  with  changes  of  government.  Military 
leaders  at  times  paid  for  supplies  with  money  turned 
out  on  typewriters  —  money  made  on  the  spot.  Even 
in  the  large  cities  there  were  no  courts  save  those  of 
petty  magistrates  to  handle  criminal  cases.  With  no 
courts,  with  only  a  partially  organized  government 
(which  might  change  any  day),  with  little  or  no  rail- 
way service,  industries  closed,  an  epidemic  of  typhus, 


CAEKA^ZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        163 

agriculture  stopped,  brigandage,  military  operations  and 
factional  fighting,  conditions  were  desperate.  In  the 
rural  districts  the  peons,  failing  to  obtain  work,  flocked 
to  the  capital,  which,  with  a  hundred  thousand  or  more 
refugees,  was,  in  the  worst  possible  shape.  Altogether, 
affairs  could  not  have  been  much  worse.  There  was, 
however,  no  rioting.  The  peon  class  seldom  voices  its 
complaints  if  there  is  a  show  of  authority. 

Toward  the  end  of  1915  there  was  some  improvement. 
Railway  service  between  the  capital  and  Vera  Cruz 
was  on  a  fairly  regnilar  basis.  The  National  Railway 
line  from  Laredo  to  Mexico  City  was  again  in  opera- 
tion, after  a  more  or  less  complete  suspension  for  a 
year.  Seizure  of  properties  in  Constitutionalist  terri- 
tory ceased.  Carranza,  acting  as  provisional  dictator 
under  the  title  of  First  Chief,  was  beginning  to  shape 
something  like  a  government  into  being.  The  Pan- 
American  conference,  "  A.  B.  C."  and  the  United 
States,  at  last  gave  the  Constitutionalists  recognition, 
and  this  was  followed  by  similar  action  by  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Spain.  The  year  1916  opened  up  hopefully. 
Then  came  serious  complications.  One  of  the  large 
American  mining  companies  decided,  in  view  of  im- 
proving conditions,  to  resume  operations,  and  sent  a 
train,  carrying  employees  and  supplies,  into  Mexico. 
The  train  was  held  up  by  a  Villista  band  under  Lopez 
at  the  station  of  Santa  Isabel,  and  seventeen  Americana 
were  lined  up  and  shot.  Carranza  deplored  the  inci- 
dent and  sent  forces  to  hunt  dovm  Lopez,  who  was  cap- 
tured and,  with  seventeen  of  his  band,  executed.  The 
incident  caused  great  indignation  in  the  United  States, 
and  again  demands  were  made  on  the  Washington  gov- 
ernment for  military  intervention  in  Mexico.  The  ex- 
citement caused  had  barely  subsided  when  a  Villa  band, 
on  March  9,  made  a  raid  on  Columbus,  N.  M.,  killing 


164:     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

many  American  soldiers  and  civilians.  Additional 
American  troops  were  immediately  dispatched  to  the 
border,  and  General  Pershing  was  ordered  to  go  into 
Mexico  and  catch  Villa.  American  troops  crossed  the 
line  on  March  fifteenth,  and  General  Pershing  moved 
rapidly  South  in  pursuit  of  Villa.  Much  friction  arose 
through  the  presence  of  American  troops  in  Mexico. 
The  Carranza  government  had  said  it  would  give  per- 
mission for  American  troops  to  chase  bandits  on  Mex- 
ican soil  if  Mexico  were  given  reciprocal  rights.  Per- 
shing wished  to  use  the  Mexico  Northwestern  Railway 
for  the  movement  of  troops  and  supplies,  and  only  ob- 
tained a  tardy  permission,  for  the  handling  of  supplies 
only.  Pershing,  with  only  a  small  force,  and  obliged 
to  keep  open  a  long  line  of  communication  in  a  coun- 
try which  might  prove  to  be  hostile,  could  not  surround 
Villa,  who,  although  wounded  in  a  skii-mish,  managed 
to  escape  to  the  mountains.  As  the  troops  advanced 
in  Mexico  the  friction  over  their  presence  grew  worse. 
Carranza  military  leaders  considered  the  American 
force,  strung  out  on  a  line  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
long,  as  a  wedge  driven  in  anticipation  of  a  large  army 
of  occupation,  and  finally  notified  Pershing  that  any 
further  advance  would  be  met  with  armed  resistance. 
Twice  American  troops  were  fired  on,  and  incidents  at 
Parral  and  Carrizal  threatened  to  plunge  the  two  coun- 
tries into  war.  State  department  assurances  that  there 
would  be  no  intervention  were  not  believed  in  Mexico, 
which  began  massing  troops  in  the  North.  The  United 
States  government  notified  all  Americans  to  leave  Mex- 
ico. There  was  a  general  exodus,  Americans  leaving 
precipitately  any  way  they  could,  by  train,  passenger 
steamers,  "  tramps "  and  transports.  The  American 
National  Guard  was  called  out  and  sent  to  the  border. 
At  the  end  of  June  war  seemed  inevitable,  but  early  in 


CARRANZA  —  VILLA  —  ZAPATA        165 

July  Carranza  proposed  a  conference  over  border  ques- 
tions, and  Washington  accepted  the  otfer.  In  August 
the  Mexican  government  named  Luis  Cabrera,  Igiiacio 
Bonillas  and  Alberto  J.  Pani  as  commissioners  for  the 
conference,  while  the  United  States  named  Secretary 
Lane,  Judge  Gray  and  John  R.  Mott.  Sessions  of  the 
conference  were  held  in  Xew  London,  Conn.,  beginning 
early  in  September,  and  continued  through  the  month 
there,  and  through  the  months  of  October  and  November 
at  Atlantic  City.  In  October  the  Mexican  Commis- 
sioners asked  for  the  withdrawal  of  American  troops 
from  Mexico  as  a  preliminary  to  any  discussions.  This 
request  was  repeated  at  various  times,  the  Mexican  rep- 
resentatives insisting  that  the  continuance  of  troops  in 
Mexico  was  not  only  unnecessary  and  unfriendly  but 
was  also  a  very  serious  handicap  to  the  government  in 
internal  affairs.  Finally,  a  protocol  was  agreed  on  to 
cover  the  withdrawal,  and  also  for  the  policing  of  the 
border,  the  protocol  being  signed  by  the  Mexican  Com- 
missioners subject  to  Carranza's  approval.  Sefior  Pani 
went  to  Mexico  and  returned  shortly  with  the  statement 
that  Carranza  took  the  position  that  no  protocol  was 
necessary  for  the  withdrawal  of  troops  from  Mexican 
soil;  that  the  troops  were  in  Mexico  without  Mexico's 
consent ;  that  Mexico  had  repeatedly  asked  to  have  them 
withdrawn;  and,  finally,  that,  if  the  L^nited  States 
wished  to  show  its  friendship  by  withdrawing  the 
troops,  it  could  do  so  without  any  discussion  or  agree- 
ment. The  conference  then  ended,  and,  while  nothing 
definite  had  been  accomplished,  there  was  a  better  un- 
derstanding on  both  sides  and  the  way  w^as  paved  for 
the  establishment  of  more  friendly  relations.  On  Jan- 
uary 2,  1916,  orders  were  given  to  General  Pershing 
to  withdraw  his  forces,  and  a  week  later  Henry  P. 
Fletcher,  appointed  ambassador  some  months  before  but 


166     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

held  in  Washington  awaiting  developments,  was  sent 
to  his  post.  Shortly  afterward  the  Mexican  government 
named  Mr.  Bonillas  as  ambassador  to  the  United 
States. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
DIFFICULT  CONDITIONS 

Occupied,  on  the  one  hand,  with  foreign  complica- 
tions which  promised,  for  some  time,  to  involve  the 
country  in  war,  the  government  had  been,  on  the  other, 
beset  with  many  very  serious  problems  at  home.  The 
year  1916  had  opened  up  with  prospects  of  rapid  im- 
provements in  the  political  situation.  There  were,  how- 
ever, many  practical  difficulties  in  the  way.  An  epi- 
demic of  typhus,  finding  easy  victims  in  the  half- 
starved  population,  had  swept  over  the  country  in  1915 
with  terrific  virulence,  reaching  such  proportions  that 
the  burial  of  the  dead  had,  at  times,  been  a  difficult 
problem  to  handle.  This  epidemic,  with  the  winter 
season,  when  people  crowded  together  in  close  quarters, 
started  up  again,  and  its  reappearance  was  enough  to 
discourage  the  most  optimistic.  The  government's  pa- 
per money,  which  had  held  fairly  steady,  began,  under 
the  fear  of  foreign  trouble  and  the  uncertainties  as  to 
internal  affairs,  to  decline  rapidly,  ending  in  a  collapse 
which  upset  the  whole  industrial  situation.  A  for- 
eigner going  to  Mexico  for  a  month's  stay  in  the  Spring 
of  1916,  found  the  pesos  worth  four  cents  on  arrival, 
and  left  later  with  the  same  pesos  worth  two  cents. 
Such  a  slump  naturally  upset  all  classes  of  business  and 
all  industrial  disputes.  The  general  depression  in  busi- 
ness, coupled  with  the  critical  state  of  relations  with 
the  United  States,  resulted  in  a  general  lack  of  confi- 
dence in  the  government,  and  this,  in  turn,  caused  more 

167 


168     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

declines  in  currency  and  more  economic  upset.  Some 
idea  of  the  conditions  prevailing  during  the  Spring  can 
be  gained  from  a  summary  of  housekeeping  expenses. 
A  house  which  had  rented  a  few  years  before  for  two 
hundred  pesos,  or  one  hundred  dollars,  still  rented  for 
two  hundred  pesos,  then  worth  about  four  dollars. 
Household  servants  received  their  old  wages,  twenty- 
five  pesos  (50  cents)  per  month  for  a  cook,  and  40 
pesos  (20  cents)  for  housemaids.  Electric  light  bills 
for  an  average  house  amounted  to  twelve  or  fifteen  cents, 
and  water  rates  were  less.  Consequently,  for  six  dol- 
lars a  month  one  could  have  a  large  house,  with  serv- 
ants, electric  light  bills  and  water  rates  paid.  Ten 
dollars  more  would  buy  necessary  food  for  a  good-sized 
family,  so  that,  for  fifteen  or  sixteen  dollars  one  could 
maintain  a  fairly  luxurious  establishment.  Imported 
articles  were  high  in  price,  and  some  domestic  manu- 
factured goods  maintained  a  gold  standard  and  conse- 
quently high  prices.  Generally,  however,  prices  were 
ridiculously  low.  The  old  basis  of  tariffs  in  vogue  on 
the  railways,  reduced  to  American  currency,  was  a  joke, 
the  first-class  fare  and  Pullman  ticket  from  Vera  Cruz 
to  Mexico  City,  a  twelve-hour  ride,  costing  one  dollar; 
first-class  fare  alone  fifty  cents;  and  second-class  fare 
thirty  cents,  the  last  at  the  rate  of  one-eighth  of  a  cent 
per  mile.  The  price  of  a  shoe-shine  was  25  centavos, 
or  one-fourth  of  a  peso,  the  latter  worth  two  cents  — 
in  other  words,  half  a  cent.  Foodstuffs,  however,  were 
relatively  high,  always  remaining,  as  articles  of  general 
necessity,  at  something  like  gold  values.  Moreover, 
disturbed  conditions  had  cut  do\vn  agricultural  produc- 
tion, and  part  of  the  needed  corn  —  the  staple  of  the 
country  —  had  to  be  imported,  naturally  giving  corn 
a  gold  value.  Thus,  while  foodstuffs  had  advanced 
750,  1,000  or  even  2,000  per  cent.,  Mexican  currency, 


DIFFICULT  CONDITIONS  169 

labor  bad  advanced  only  100,  150  or  200  per  cent. 
Tbe  only  workers  wbo  did  not  suffer  acutely  under 
tbese  conditions  were  domestic  servants,  wbo,  wbile 
tbeir  pay  bad  not  advanced,  at  least  bad  sbelter  and 
food.  Even  tbey  suffered  wben  it  came  to  tbe  question 
of  clotbing  tbemselves.  An  ordinary  pair  of  service- 
able sboes  cost  a  bundred  pesos,  or  two  montbs'  wages, 
wbile  imported  sboes  of  tbe  $3.50  variety  sold  for  250 
pesos.  Tbe  average  pay  of  some  tbree  tbousand  em- 
ployees of  public  utility  companies  was,  in  Marcb,  less 
tban  four  pesos,  or  eigbt  cents  U.  S.  currency,  per 
man.  So  great  was  tbe  distress  tbat  in  many  cases 
employees  begged  to  be  paid  in  food  rations.  Tbe  con- 
ditions were  almost  as  bad  as  tbey  bad  been  during  tbe 
last  days  of  tbe  Zapata  occupation,  wben  Zapata  money 
had  declined  almost  to  tbe  vanishing  point.  At  tbat 
time  a  corner  policeman,  asking  a  resident  for  a  tip, 
said  be  bated  to  beg,  but  was  obliged  to  because  of  food- 
stuff prices. 

"  You  know,"  be  said,  "  a  good  sized  cat  sells  in  tbe 
market  for  30  to  35  pesos.  I  get  five  pesos  a  day,  so 
if  I  work  a  week  I  can  just  earn  one  cat."' 

Tbe  El  Oro  mining  camp,  overrun  several  times  by 
bandit  gangs,  had  closed  down,  throwing  seven  or  eight 
tbousand  men  out  of  work.  Tbe  cotton  mills  at  Puebla 
and  Orizaba,  employing  thousands  of  workmen,  were 
closed.  Guanajuato,  one  of  tbe  oldest  mining  camps 
in  Mexico,  had  dwindled  from  forty  thousand  inhab- 
itants down  to  fifteen  thousand  —  and  there  was  no 
work  even  for  those  remaining.  The  great  smelters, 
steel  works  and  industrial  plants  at  Monterrey  —  the 
sole  support  of  a  population  of  ninety  thousand  people 
—  were  all  closed.     And  so  all  over  the  country. 

Felix  Diaz  was  stirring  up  trouble  in  Oaxaca,  Zapata 
was  dominant  in  Morelos,  Guerrero  and  Micboacan,  and 


170     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKEOW 

Villa  was  iu  possession  of  a  large  part  of  Chihuahua. 
There  were  almost  innumerable  bands  of  brigands 
roaming  through  the  country.  In  addition  to  the  trou- 
bles caused  by  military  opposition,  brigandage  and  in- 
dustrial conditions,  the  government  was  confronted  by 
very  serious  civil  opposition.  To  understand  this,  it 
is  necessary  to  briefly  review  past  conditions.  Under 
the  former  regime  in  Mexico  there  was  practically  no 
provision,  politically,  for  a  middle  class.  The  govern- 
ment was  an  autocracy,  managed  by  a  few  and  in  a 
great  measure  for  the  benefit  of  a  few.  These  were  the 
land  owners  on  one  hand,  to  govern,  and  the  laborers, 
farm  hands  and  Indians,  on  the  other,  to  be  governed. 
The  middle  class  was  an  incident  —  shopkeepers,  clerks, 
small  professional  men,  small  manufacturers,  some  small 
landowners.  The  middle  class,  on  the  whole,  was  an 
educated  class  dependent  on  the  aristocratic  class.  It 
was  fairly  prosperous,  and  improving  its  position.  The 
sub-leaders  of  the  revolution  came,  generally,  from  the 
working  class  or  from  the  less  wealthy  part  of  the  mid- 
dle class.  With  the  economic  upheaval  which  followed 
the  revolution  business  came  to  a  standstill.  Shop- 
keepers sold  no  goods,  factories  had  no  orders,  clerks 
had  no  work,  professional  men  had  no  money.  When 
paper  money  went  all  to  pieces,  the  middle  class  suf- 
fered, perhaps  most  of  all,  as  salaries  and  fees  continued 
to  be  paid  at  the  same  rate  as  before  but  with  half  or 
more  of  the  purchasing  power  of  the  money  gone.  The 
laboring  classes,  being  more  or  less  organized,  could 
at  least  by  strikes  improve  their  position,  or,  organized 
as  bands,  they  could  seize  goods.  The  middle  class, 
reduced  to  extremities,  too  proud  to  beg,  too  educated 
to  loot,  could  only  suffer.  Naturally,  a  large  part  of 
this  class  became  bitter  about  the  revolution.  The 
aristocratic  class,  against  whom  the  revolution  was  di- 


DIFFICULT  CONDITIONS  171 

reeled,  was  even  more  bitter.  The  laboring  class  and 
the  Indians,  as  a  whole,  enjoyed  liberty  and  license  at 
first,  but  began  to  grumble  when  their  wages  would 
not  meet  half  of  their  needs.  The  government  had, 
therefore,  arrayed  against  it  practically  the  united  oppo- 
sition of  the  old  wealthy  class,  of  an  important  part  of 
the  middle  class,  and  of  a  certain  part  of  the  poorer 
and  laboring  classes,  who  wanted  plenty  of  liberty  but 
wanted  cheap  food  with  it. 

In  addition  to  these  military  and  economic  troubles, 
there  was  the  solid  opposition  of  the  church.  It  is,  per- 
haps, somewhat  difficult  to  understand  the  relations  be- 
tween the  church  and  party  politics  in  Mexico.  The 
Church  and  State  had  long  been  separated,  and  osten- 
sibly there  was  no  connection  between  the  church  and 
the  -political  machine  which  for  years  dominated  the 
country.  The  Church,  however,  had,  perhaps  scarcely 
realizing  it,  been  a  steady  supporter  of  the  autocratic 
government.  It  worked  with  the  wealthy  landowners, 
had  their  support  and  gave  them  its  aid.  It  was  op- 
posed to  any  change,  and,  from  the  first,  had  been  hos- 
tile to  the  revolution  —  not  hostile,  perhaps,  to  all  of 
the  revolutionary  ideals,  but  opposed  to  any  departure 
from  the  old  order  of  things.  Its  position  was  similar 
to  that  of  the  church  in  Spain  —  an  institution  which, 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  had  been  a  check  on  a  turbulent 
people,  but  which,  in  time,  became  a  brake  on  progress. 
Mexico  had  not  the  monastic  orders,  nor  great  numbers 
of  priests,  as  in  Spain,  but  the  church  had  not,  as  in 
the  United  States,  developed  on  broad  lines  of  thought. 
Education  was  parochial  and  along  limited  lines. 
There  were,  to  be  sure,  many  devoted  priests,  and  sis- 
ters of  charity  did  much  to  relieve  the  suffering  of  the 
poor  classes.  There  were,  and  are,  ecclesiastics  in  Mex- 
ico whose  vision  is  clear  and  whose  logic  is   sound. 


172     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

Nevertheless,  the  church  has  never  been  a  factor  for 
progress  in  Mexico. 

Perhaps  the  feeling  of  Constitutionalist  leaders  to- 
ward the  Church  can  best  be  shown  by  an  interview  the 
writer  had  with  General  Obregon  in  the  Fall  of  1910. 
The  various  factors  of  the  situation  were  being  dis- 
cussed, when  General  Obregon,  in  his  clear,  sharp  way, 
asked : 

"  Do  you  know  any  of  the  large  haciendas  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Please  describe  them  —  the  grounds,  the  buildings, 
and  so  on."  Residence,  peons'  quarters,  warehouses, 
and  other  features  were  enumerated,  and  finally  the 
chapel  was  mentioned  — 

"  Stop !     Do  you  know  what  that  is  for  ?  " 

"  To  give  the  peons  a  place  to  worship." 

"  Xo,"  Obregon  snapped  out,  bringing  his  fist  down 
on  the  table,  "  that  is  where  the  poor  peon  is  given  the 
daily  dose  of  spiritual  cocaine  to  keep  him  happy  and 
illusioned  through  the  day." 

This  is,  of  course,  an  extreme  view,  but  many  peo- 
ple, including  conservative  Mexicans  having  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  government,  believe  that  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  truth  back  of  the  statement.  The  church  taught 
patience,  obedience,  peace,  spiritual  consolation.  In  the 
rural  districts  it  was,  intentionally  or  otherwise,  hand- 
in-glove  with  the  owners  of  the  large  haciendas.  Obre- 
gon's  bitter  view  of  the  situation  was  that  the  Church 
got  anything  that  the  estate  owner  overlooked  —  in 
other  words,  that  the  peon  slaved  for  a  pittance  for 
the  ''  hacendado "  and  then  had  to  give  up  anything 
he  had  to  secure  repose  for  his  soul.  There  were  ha- 
ciendas where  conditions  were  ideal,  where  the  estate 
owner  had  a  fatherly  interest  in  all  his  people,  where 
the  priest  represented  the  ideals  of  religion, —  and  there 


DIFFICULT  CONDITIOIS'S  173 

were  haciendas  where  conditions  were  the  reverse. 
Obregou,  in  his  "  Eight  Thousand  Kilometers  of  Cam- 
paign/' makes  some  statements  as  to  the  morals  of  rural 
priests  which  are  hard  to  believe,  but  which,  at  least, 
show  the  bitterness  of  feeling.  Moreover,  the  program 
of  the  Constitutionalists,  advocating  civil  marriage  and 
divorce  and  restricting  the  authority  of  the  church  in 
several  directions,  was  sufficient  cause  for  hostility  on 
the  part  of  the  clericals.  The  Church  felt  itself  put  on 
the  defensive  from  the  start.  It  may  be  said,  incident- 
ally, that  Carranza  and  his  family  are  Roman  Catholics, 
as  are  nearly  all  of  the  leaders  in  the  Constitutionalist 
movement,  and  their  antagonism  to  the  Church  was  not 
religious,  but  political.  Whatever  may  be  the  right  and 
wrong  of  the  matter,  the  fact  remains  that  the  govern- 
ment had  the  united  opposition  of  the  church,  and  this, 
in  a  strongly  Roman  Catholic  country,  was  no  small 
matter. 

The  government  was,  therefore,  through  the  year 
1916,  constantly  facing  the  greatest  possible  difficulties 
—  epidemics,  extreme  industrial  depression,  lack  of  con- 
fidence, civil  opposition,  church  hostility,  currency  and 
financial  difficulties,  formidable  military  opposition, 
brigandage,  and  critical  foreign  relations.  Viewing  the 
United  States  as  a  possible,  even  a  probable,  enemy,  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  army  was  occupied  in  the 
North  in  a  defensive  attitude,  simply  keeping  tab  on  the 
American  troops  in  the  country.  This  cut  down  the 
number  of  troops  available  to  meet  armed  opposition 
within  the  country,  and  also  had  the  effect  of  stimulat- 
ing rebellion.  Villa  and  other  leaders  used  the  Ameri- 
can menace  as  a  rallying  cry  to  recruit  more  men,  and 
the  increased  strength  of  their  forces  made  it  much  more 
difficult  to  push  an  effective  campaign  against  them. 
The  army  was  short  of  ammunition,  which,  because  of 


174     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:N^D  TO-MOEROW 

an  embargo  established  by  the  United  States,  could  not 
be  obtained. 

With  a  very  large  majority  of  the  people  discontented 
and  hostile,  the  government  was  in  a  very  difficult  posi- 
tion. It  had,  to  be  sure,  military  support,  but  many  of 
the  troops  were  ill-trained  and  undisciplined.  Many 
of  the  minor  chiefs  were  quite  independent  and  given 
to  all  sorts  of  excesses.  In  the  early  part  of  1916  the 
streets  of  the  capital  were  full  of  unruly  officers,  racing 
up  and  down  in  motor  cars  filled  with  fast  women,  and 
fights  and  shooting  aifrays  in  cafes  and  restaurants  were 
common.  The  troops  themselves  were  an  element  of 
grave  danger.  Paid  in  depreciated  currency,  at  a  rate 
of  as  low  as  five  cents  per  day,  they  were  likely,  at  any 
moment,  to  upset  the  whole  scheme. 

Many  of  the  troubles  of  the  government  were  directly 
or  indirectly  due  to  financial  difficulties.  The  revolu- 
tion started  with  no  money  in  the  treasury,  and  the  gov- 
ernment put  out  paper  currency  which,  in  the  early 
days  of  the  revolution,  was  accepted,  along  the  border, 
at  about  thirty  cents  to  the  peso.  Increasing  issues 
gradually  forced  the  price  downward,  and  in  April, 
1915,  its  paper  peso  had  a  market  value  of  about  ten 
cents  (United  States  Currency).  The  rapid  changes  of 
government  in  the  National  Capital  in  1915,  each  accom- 
panied by  changes  in  currency,  largely  destroyed  confi- 
dence in  paper  money.  Carranza  money  would  pass 
current  so  long  as  Carranza  held  the  capital.  The 
Zapatistas  or  Villistas,  on  occupying  the  city,  would  re- 
pudiate existing  currency  and  issue  their  own,  enforcing 
its  acceptance  as  long  as  they  remained  in  power.  Then 
Carranza  money,  having  meanwhile  slumped  in  value, 
would  come  back  again.  Each  issue  would  sag  slowly 
in  value,  and  then,  immediately  before  evacuation  of  the 
city  by  those  in  power,  it  would  slump  violently  —  and  a 


DIFFICULT  CONDITIONS  175 

sudden  drop  iisiiallj  meant  a  new  government  on  the 
scene.  Speculators  would  buy  all  the  paper  offered, 
hold  it  for  a  possible  change  of  administration  or  smug- 
gle it  through  the  lines  to  dispose  of  it  in  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  faction  issuing  it.  Some  of  the  states  had 
their  o\^ti  paper  issues.  There  were,  also,  many  bank 
bills  in  circulation,  but  there  was  always  some  uncer- 
tainty as  to  whether  the  banks  were  solvent,  many  of  the 
banks  having  failed  and  all  of  them  being  closed  down. 
In  the  capital  the  matter  was  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  Zapatistas,  on  first  taking  the  city,  having  no 
plates,  used  some  old  plates  they  found  and  ran  off  a  lot 
of  Carranza  currency,  decreeing,  however,  that  only 
bills  above  certain  serial  numbers  would  be  valid.  All 
the  bills  were  cheaply  made,  and  a  tremendous  amount 
of  counterfeits  were  in  circulation. 

How  much  currency  was  issued  altogether  by  the  vari- 
ous factions  will  never  be  known.  The  Constitutional- 
ist issue  of  "  Vera  Cruz  "  money  amounted  to  a  total  of 
eight  hundred  million  pesos  or  more.  This  money, 
starting  out  with  a  market  value  of  about  ten  cents, 
dropped  steadily  until,  by  the  end  of  March,  1916,  it 
was  selling  at  about  two  cents.  This  money  was,  like 
the  paper  issues  of  other  factions,  merely  a  promise  to 
pay,  with  no  reserve  back  of  it.  The  government  then 
put  out  a  new  issue,  to  be  backed  by  a  reserve.  This 
issue,  known  as  "  Infalsicables  "  (non-counterfeitable), 
was  made  in  the  shape  of  5,  10,  20,  50  and  100  peso 
bills  engraved  by  the  American  Bank  Note  Co.  This 
issue  appeared  in  April,  and  a  portion  of  it  was  used  to 
take  up  Vera  Cruz  bills  at  a  ratio  of  10  old  for  1  new. 
The  value  of  the  new  bills  was  placed  at  20  centavos 
Mexican  gold  (10  cents  U.  S.  currency)  and  by  decree 
people  were  obliged  to  accept  them  at  this  rate.  The 
goverimient  established  a  monetary  commission  through 


176     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AN^D  TO-MOREOW 

which  all  the  new  money  was  to  be  purchased,  and  this 
conunission  maintained  a  theoretical  ratio  of  10  to  1. 
As  soon,  however,  as  through  the  exchange  of  Vera 
Cruz  bills,  and  through  the  use  of  the  new  bills  for  pay- 
rolls, the  new  issue  got  into  general  circulation,  there 
was  outside  speculation  in  the  new  bills  at  a  discount. 
In  spite  of  penalties  provided,  this  outside  speculation 
reached  great  proportions,  and  before  long  the  new 
money  was  selling  outside  at  50%  discount.  The  gov- 
ernment finally  lifted  all  restrictions,  and  the  money, 
after  holding  around  ll/G  and  5  cents,  began  steadily 
going  downward  until  it  had  reached,  in  December,  a 
ratio  of  500  to  1,  U.  S.  currency.  This  issue  was  in 
part  backed  by  a  gold  and  silver  reserve,  instead  of 
being  nothing  more  than  a  promise  to  pay,  and  provision 
was  made  to  add  to  the  reserve  from  time  to  time  until 
the  metal  reserve  should  equal  10  cents  U.  S.  currency 
for  every  peso  issued.  The  public,  however,  had  lost 
confidence  in  paper  money,  and  the  total  gold  value  of 
the  issue,  based  on  selling  price,  dropped  to  an  amount 
far  below  the  actual  cash  reserve  on  hand. 

It  is  worth  while  to  explain  in  some  detail  the  reason 
for  this  steady  decline.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  a 
general  lack  of  confidence,  and  a  fear  that,  due  to  mili- 
tary or  other  needs,  the  gold  reserve  would  be  used  for 
some  other  purpose.  Furthermore,  the  daily  course  of 
events  automaticallj'  sent  the  value  down.  For  exam- 
ple: A  merchant  would  sell  something  for  which  he 
had  to  get  $50  gold.  From  past  experience  he  was 
afraid  he  would  lose  by  taking  paper  money.  Assuming 
exchange  to  have  been  40  to  1,  the  $50  would  represent 
2,000  pesos,  but  the  merchant  would  put  his  selling  price 
at  2,200  pesos  to  cover  loss  on  exchange.  Then,  as  he 
had  to  cover  bills  for  new  merchandise  in  gold,  he  would 
give  the  2,200  pesos  to  his  broker,  telling  him  to  sell 


DIFFICULT  CONDITIONS  177 

them  to  realize  at  least  $50.  The  broker  would  collect 
5%  commission,  or  roughly  100  pesos,  and  offer  the 
2,100  pesos  in  the  market  for  $50,  or  at  a  rate  of  42  to 
1  instead  of  40  to  1.  If  the  big  mining  companies  and 
factories  happened  to  be  in  need  of  bills  for  large  pay- 
rolls, exchange  would  hold  firm,  but  if  there  was  no  de- 
mand for  paper  exchange  might  drop  10%  in  one  day. 
Several  hundred  men  went  into  the  brokerage  business, 
each  one  of  whom  had  a  small  clientele  of  shops  from 
whom  they  collected  paper  money  at  night  and  sold  it  on 
the  best  terms  they  could  in  the  morning.  As  every 
shopkeeper  ahvaj's,  in  his  mind,  and  in  his  sales  prices, 
discounted  the  paper  by  10  to  15%,  the  shopkeepers,  as 
a  class,  each  morning  had  a  large  supply  of  paper  which 
they  were  willing  to  sell  at  a  liberal  discount.  Nat- 
urally, each  transaction  only  opened  the  way  for  a  fur- 
ther drop  the  day  following,  for  with  each  drop  the 
paper  prices  were  advanced  to  10%  or  15%  above  cur- 
rent exchange  rates.  Under  this  process  the  U.  S.  gold 
value  of  the  peso  dropped,  between  September  twentieth 
and  November  thirteenth  —  eight  weeks  —  from  three 
cents  to  one  cent,  then  slumped  to  four-tenths  of  a  cent 
and  finally  went  out  in  a  blaze  of  glory  at  two-tenths  of 
one  cent. 

The  effect  of  such  wild  fluctuations  in  the  currency  on 
the  industrial  and  economic  structure  may  well  be  imag- 
ined. One  curious  feature  of  the  currency  difiiculties 
was  that  the  farther  away  one  got  from  the  large  centers, 
the  lower  was  the  market  value  of  paper  money.  Rural 
districts  had,  to  use  an  expressive  slang  phrase,  been 
"  stung  "  several  times,  accepting  issues  long  after  they 
had  ceased  to  have  value  in  the  commercial  centers,  and 
they  were  very  shy  about  taking  paper  money  at  any 
price.  If  they  took  it  at  all  it  was  at  a  heavy  discount. 
"  Vera  Cruz  "  money  might  be  selling  at  40  to  1  in 


178     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

Mexico  City,  while  a  hundred  miles  away  you  could 
only  get  GO  to  1  or  80  to  1.  The  tendency  in  rural  dis- 
tricts was  to  revert  to  primitive  methods  of  barter,  or  to 
trade  only  in  silver  coin,  some  of  which  found  its  way 
into  circulation. 

Another  very  curious  feature  was  the  feeling  of  reck- 
lessness which  possessed  every  one.  With  no  certainty 
of  what  money  would  be  worth  the  day  following,  the 
tendenc}^  was  to  get  rid  of  it  immediately  —  to  waste  it, 
to  convert  it  into  real  estate  or  merchandise, —  in  fact, 
to  do  anything  to  avoid  having  it  on  you  the  next  day. 
A  Canadian  gentleman,  arriving  in  Mexico  City,  went 
to  a  bank  to  change  twenty  dollars  gold  into  Mexican 
money.     The  banker  advised  him  against  reckless  risk. 

"  If  you  need  change,  sell  five  dollars  —  twenty  is  too 
much.  You  can  probably  buy  more  pesos  with  the  bal- 
ance later.     Don't  change  over  five  dollars  at  a  time." 

He  was  right.  The  peso  dropped  from  4  cents  to  3 
cents  in  a  week.  Besides,  five  dollars  bought  165  pesos, 
and  with  street  car  fares  at  one-third  of  a  cent  and  a 
liberal  waiter's  tip  at  two  cents,  one  could  not  spend  all 
the  money  in  a  week. 

The  issue  of  paper  pesos  was  supplemented,  for  con- 
venience in  small  transactions,  by  an  issue  of  fractional 
currency —  5,  10,  20  and  50  centavos.  This  fractional 
currency  was  in  the  shape  of  bits  of  cardboard  much 
like  milk  tickets.  For  ten  cents  silver  one  could  get 
100  5-centavo  cardboard  tickets,  or  at  the  rate  of  ten  for 
a  cent.  At  the  time  of  the  exchange  of  ''  Vera  Cruz  " 
money  for  the  new  issue,  at  the  rate  of  10  for  one,  the 
"  Vera  Cruz  "  peso  was  at  a  nominal  value  of  one  cent, 
but  soon  declined  to  a  third  of  a  cent.  The  Vera  Cruz 
fractional  currency,  at  a  rate  of  fifty  or  sixty  for  a  cent, 
of  course,  became  worthless.  The  new  issue  of  frac- 
tional money  met  with  the  same  fate. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
OAERANZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES 

With  economic  and  financial  troubles,  civil  hostility, 
foreign  complications  and  internal  disorder,  the  situa- 
tion throughout  1916  was  most  discouraging,  and  time 
and  again  predictions  were  made  that  there  would  be  a 
political  turnover.  The  government,  however,  kept  peg- 
ging away,  and  little  by  little  conditions  improved. 
Carranza  moved  the  seat  of  government  from  Vera  Cruz 
to  Queretaro,  the  latter  place  being  far  more  central. 
Although  his  forces  occupied  the  National  Capital,  he 
preferred  not  to  have  his  headquarters  there.  His  en- 
emies said  he  was  afraid  to  visit  the  city.  His  real 
reason  for  selecting  Queretero  was  doubtless  a  psycho- 
logical one.  The  capital,  the  center  of  social,  diplomatic 
and  business  life,  was  decidedly  hostile,  and  life  there 
would  involve  a  constant  struggle  with  a  thousand  and 
one  complaints  and  grievances.  Queretaro,  an  agricul- 
tural city  of  forty  thousand  people,  was  sympathetic,  and 
the  government,  with  its  staff  and  departments,  would 
easily  be  the  dominating  influence.  People  with  trou- 
bles to  discuss  would  not  only  have  to  make  a  tiresome 
seven-hour  journey,  but  would,  on  arriving,  find  them- 
selves in  a  purely  government  atmosphere.  The  man 
who,  in  Mexico  City,  backed  by  contact  with  sympathetic 
people,  would  be  full  of  fight,  would,  after  spending  two 
or  three  lonely  days  in  a  poor  hotel  in  Queretero,  be  in  a 
much  more  subdued  frame  of  mind.     The  coming  and 

179 


180     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

going  of  special  trains  belonging  to  various  generals,  the 
delays  in  securing  audiences,  in  fact,  all  the  settings  and 
surroundings,  tended  to  greatly  discourage  every  one 
who  tried  to  get  anything  done,  and  consequently  greatly 
cut  down  the  number  of  visitors. 

It  was  interesting,  at  this  time,  and  quite  amusing, 
to  watch  the  people  come  and  go.  Carrauza  held  an 
audience  every  morning,  starting  at  ten  o'clock  and 
frequently  lasting  all  day.  The  large  reception  room 
in  the  Governor's  palace  was  crowded  all  day  long  with 
people  waiting  to  see  the  First  Chief  —  a  general  with 
four  or  five  of  his  staff,  with  much  air  of  bravado; 
a  private,  with  legs  shot  off,  on  crutches,  hoping  to 
get  some  pension;  a  number  of  silk-hatted  lawyers, 
with  large  leather  cases  full  of  papers;  two  or  three 
widows,  probably  to  get  aid  in  property  matters ;  a  dele- 
gation of  factory  workers,  in  "  jumper "  suits ;  four 
or  five  peons  in  their  white  cotton  suits  and  sandals, 
evidently  a  delegation  of  some  sort,  sitting  silently 
together  in  a  corner ;  a  few  business  men  looking  nerv- 
ously at  their  watches  from  time  to  time,  the  while  eye- 
ing each  other  suspiciously,  each  one  wondering  what 
the  others  were  there  for;  two  or  three  smart  military 
aides,  with  much  gold  braid,  running  in  and  out  of  the 
various  rooms;  some  rather  ragged  porteros  whispering 
together;  two  sandaled  soldiers,  in  white  pyjamas, 
guarding  the  door  and  poking  their  guns  at  every  one  in 
a  manner  calculated  to  give  a  nervous  person  severe 
chills  —  and  so  on  day  after  day.  A  day  spent  in  wait- 
ing for  one's  name  to  be  called  always  took  some  of  the 
starch  out  of  one's  mental  collar.  Even  the  somewhat 
ar7'ogant  general  and  his  staff,  despots  in  their  own  do- 
main, who  had  crowded  in  with  considerable  bluster,  be- 
came subdued,  and  accepted  gracefully  the  announce- 
ment that  they  must  come  again  the  day  following. 


CARRANZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES   181 

Carranza  has  been  praised  to  the  skies  by  enthusiasts, 
and  socialistic  writers  have  seen  in  him  the  dawn  of  a 
new  era  for  the  world.  He  has,  on  the  other  hand,  dur- 
ing four  years,  been  the  most  cordially  hated  and  abused 
man  in  Mexico.  People  say  he  is  arrogant,  vain, 
stupid,  narrow,  ignorant,  a  politician  who  caters  to  the 
passions  of  the  ig-norant  to  keep  himself  in  power  —  in 
fjict,  about  all  the  hard  things  which  can  be  said  of  a 
public  man.  Up  to  a  few  months  ago  his  government, 
to  judge  by  common  talk,  was  always  on  the  verge  of 
collapse,  and  sixty  days  more  of  political  life  was  the 
maximum  time  limit  usually  set.  But  through  it  all  he 
has  kept  pegging  along,  ignoring  opposition,  going  over, 
through  or  around  obstacles,  full  of  confidence,  always 
cheerful.  Above  all,  he  is  a  man  of  tenacity.  Seem- 
ingly, he  does  not  know  what  the  word  discouragement 
means.  Newspaper  correspondents  who  have  cam- 
paigned with  him  say  that  reverses  had  as  much  effect 
on  him  as  water  poured  on  a  duck's  back.  He  would 
receive  a  telegram  that  an  army  had  suffered  a  serious 
defeat,  that  strategic  points  had  been  lost  and  important 
cities  evacuated,  and  would  say,  as  undisturbed  as  ever, 
"  Oh,  well,  we  must  expect  this  sort  of  thing ;  now  we 
must  see  what  the  next  best  move  is."  Once  his  mind 
is  made  up,  an  attempt  to  get  him  to  change  his  position 
is  nearly  useless.  One  of  his  leading  supporters,  in  dis- 
cussing certain  pending  matters,  once  gave  a  character- 
istic description  of  the  man. 

"  I  have  had,"  he  said,  "  many  arguments  and  discus- 
sions with  the  First  Chief,  and  several  times  have  flatly 
disagreed  with  his  views.  There  has  never  been  any- 
thing unpleasant.  He  has  always  been  calm  and  frank 
and  courteous,  but  whenever,  by  way  of  emphasis,  he 
has  shot  his  chin  out  a  little  and  his  whiskers  have 
pointed  straight  at  me  —  then  I  have  known  that  fur- 


182     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

tber  argument,  at  that  time  at  least,  would  be  quite  use- 
less." 

This  tenacity,  combined  with  personal  integrity,  have 
given  Carranza  the  continued  support  of  all  the  able  men 
in  the  Constitutionalist  party.  Even  his  enemies  admit 
he  is  honest.  When  military  graft  and  excesses  were  at 
their  worst,  in  1915  and  in  the  early  months  of  1916,  a 
good  many  people  vaguely  said  that  Carranza  was  "  not 
in  it  for  his  health,"  but  as  time  wore  on  the  public 
came  to  the  belief  that  the  "  old  man  "  was  straight. 
"  He  is  misguided  and  stubborn,  but  personally  honest," 
was  the  w^ay  one  of  the  opposition  put  it  recently.  Peo- 
ple who  have  thought  him  stupid  have  doubtless  jumped 
at  this  conclusion  from  the  fact  that,  in  an  interview,  he 
rarely  says  anything.  He  lets  you  do  all  the  talking, 
seldom  expresses  an  opinion,  and  rarely  commits  him- 
self. He  is  an  excellent  listener,  paying  close  atten- 
tion to  what  you  say,  looking  at  you  with  clear,  frank 
eyes,  his  face  —  a  strong  one  —  pleasant  but  mobile. 
Whether  standing  or  seated,  his  figure  is  erect,  almost 
rigid,  and  his  attitude,  his  eyes  and  his  whole  makeup 
give  you  an  impression  of  a  lot  of  force.  You  talk  on 
and  on,  interrupted  occasionally  by  a  pertinent  query, 
or  a  brief  "  Yes,  I  understand  the  matter  perfectly,"  and 
the  nearest  you  can  get  to  an  expression  of  opinion  is, 
"  Yes,  that  must  be  considered,"  or,  "  We  will  have  to 
look  into  that." 

Carranza  is,  unquestionably,  a  m.an  of  much  force  of 
character.  He  is  a  shrewd  politician,  and,  if  his  own 
position  in  diplomacy  or  politics  is  none  too  strong,  he 
will  patiently  wait  and  "sit  tight"  until  he  has  some 
technical  point  of  vantage  which  he  will  push  for  all 
there  is  in  it.  A  dozen  times  he  has  played  a  waiting 
game,  letting  the  other  side  do  all  the  talking,  but  not 
losing  a  minute  when  an  opportunity  came  to  score. 


CARPwANZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES      183 

For  instance,  the  American-Mexican  conference  in  1916 
indulged  in  much  general  discussion  for  a  month.  The 
American  commissioners  felt  nothing  was  being  accom- 
plished, and  said  so.  The  Mexicans  said  that  Mexico, 
irritated  by  the  presence  of  American  troops,  did  not 
want  to  take  up  any  questions  until  the  troops  were 
withdra^\al.  More  discussion  followed,  with  proposals 
that  the  troops  be  withdrawn  under  certain  conditions, 
but  the  Mexicans  ''  sat  tight "  on  insisting  that  the 
troops  be  withdrawn  unconditionally.  Finally,  a  pro- 
tocol was  drawn  up  covering  the  withdrawal,  and  the 
Mexicans,  claiming  such  an  agreement  unnecessary, 
only  signed  under  protest.  There  was  much  talk  in 
Washington  as  to  forcing  terms.  Carranza  doubtless 
felt  that  the  United  States  would  not  go  to  war  over  a 
question  of  forcing  Mexico  to  sigTi  an  agTcement  for  the 
withdrawal  of  troops.  So  he  stuck  to  his  position,  and 
the  troops  were  withdrawn  without  any  agreement. 
Washington,  to  be  sure,  had  no  desire  for  armed  inter- 
vention in  Mexico,  and  this  was,  after  all,  the  reason 
why  the  troops  were  withdrawn  and  every  effort  made  to 
put  matters  on  a  friendly  basis.  Nevertheless,  Car- 
ranza, diplomatically,  scored,  as  he  was  able  to  tell  Mexi- 
cans that,  without  yielding  a  single  point  or  agreeing  to 
anything,  the  negotiations  had  been  successful  in  secur- 
ing the  withdrawal  of  the  troops. 

This  policy  of  technical  diplomacy  has,  of  course, 
serious  disadvantages,  as  it  almost  inevitably  leads  to 
irritation  and  even  to  a  feeling  of  exasperation.  The 
American-Mexican  conference  might  have  been  of  great 
help  in  bringing  the  two  governments  into  more  inti- 
mate relations,  and,  through  this,  in  solving  some  of  the 
perplexing  problems  in  Mexico.  As  it  was,  technical 
maneuvering  for  position  gave  a  general  impression  that 
Mexico  was  somewhat  indifferent  about  problems  affect- 


184     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

ing  American  interests,  that  she  did  not  want  any  help 
from  the  United  States,  and,  that,  on  the  whole,  any 
discussion  of  matters  along  broad  lines  was  impossible. 

The  Constitutionalist  program  proposes  many  re- 
forms, and  to  what  extent  Carranza  believes  these  can 
be  brought  about  in  the  immediate  future  is  an  open 
question.  Many  of  the  troubles  are  due  to  ignorance. 
The  people,  living  in  a  condition  of  servitude  for  cen- 
turies, lack  energy  and  initiative,  have  little  or  no  con- 
ception of  government,  and  are  limited  in  mental  out- 
look. The  development  of  a  high  tone  of  political  and 
moral  thought,  and  the  uplift  in  the  social  position  of 
fifteen  million  people,  will,  naturally,  take  a  long  time. 
Carranza's  attitude  on  some  of  these  problems  leads 
many  to  believe  that  he  expects  reforms  to  move  at  a 
much  faster  rate  than  is  consistent  with  sound  growth. 
Others  feel  that  he  falls  in  with  radical  measures  only  in 
order  to  get  started,  and  also  to  make  the  proletariat 
feel  that  social  problems  will  receive  due  attention. 
Whichever  may  be  the  case,  it  is  certain  that  his  mind  is 
set  on  certain  ideals.  This  was  shown  in  1915,  when, 
in  the  midst  of  general  disorder  and  turbulence,  and  at 
a  time  when  the  government  was  scarcely  established,  he 
sent  one  hundred  and  fifty  school  teachers  on  a  tour  to 
see  the  schools  in  leading  American  cities. 

Politically,  Carranza  is  no  beginner.  He  held  impor- 
tant posts  in  the  State  of  Coahuila,  under  General  Diaz' 
regime,  for  a  number  of  years,  so  that  he  had,  before 
heading  the  revolutionary  movement,  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  political  and  social  conditions.  He  comes 
of  a  family  having  a  considerable  property,  and  has 
always  been  well-to-do,  even  rich  if  judged  by  Mexican 
standards. 

Mexico  City,  occupied  by  Constitutionalists,  Zapatis- 
tas, Villistas  and  others  in  rapid  succession,  was  in  a 


CAREANZA  AE'D  HIS  TROUBLES       185 

demoralized  state  in  1915.  Then,  when  the  Carranza 
forces  finally  came  to  stay,  a  start  was  made  on  restora- 
tion of  normal  conditions.  Pablo  Gonzalez  was  put  in 
command  as  military  governor,  and,  by  the  Spring  of 
1916,  he  had  placed  the  city  in  order  so  far  as  protection 
of  life  and  property  was  concerned.  Obregon,  ap- 
pointed minister  of  war,  placed  a  check  on  the  military 
excesses.  Loose  carousing  around  town  ceased,  business 
houses  reopened,  and  people  began  to  attend  to  their 
affairs  much  as  if  nothing  had  ever  happened.  By  Fall 
things  were  running  fairly  smoothly.  Railway  service 
to  Vera  Cruz,  to  the  American  border,  and  to  most  of  the 
important  cities  in  Mexico,  while  attended  with  consid- 
erable risk  from  bandit  operations,  became  fairly  reg- 
ular. Government  departments,  after  an  irregular  sort 
of  existence  in  Vera  Cruz  and  Queretaro,  settled  down 
in  the  capital,  and  most  of  them,  in  the  hands  of  some 
able  men,  were  soon  managing  public  business  with  a 
considerable  degree  of  precision.  A  period  of  six 
months  of  organization  was  followed,  in  the  Fall,  by 
some  serious  effort  to  improve  the  economic  situation. 
Discontent  and  business  troubles  had  been,  largely,  due 
to  currency  troubles,  and  to  stabilize  the  paper  money 
several  decrees  had  been  issued,  with  little  or  no  tangible 
results.  Two  or  three  times  all  the  brokers  in  town 
had  been  jailed  because  of  continued  speculations  in 
currency,  and  this  had  had  no  effect  of  bringing  about 
stability.  With  the  peso  falling  in  value  daily,  there 
was  much  hardship,  and  labor  was  in  constant  unrest. 
A  committee  of  employees  would  thresh  out  matters  with 
their  employers  and  reach  a  wage  agreement.  Ten  days 
or  two  weeks  later,  when  payday  came  around,  the  peso, 
having  meanwhile  declined,  would  have  twenty  or  thirty 
per  cent,  less  purchasing  power.  Then  there  would  be 
new  demands.     Currency  values  were  so  uncertain  that 


186     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

frequently  demands  were  made  for  an  increase  of  one 
hundred  per  cent.,  partly  to  catch  up  for  lost  ground, 
partly  to  anticipate  future  declines.  Strikes  were  con- 
stant. Many  employers  of  labor  used  the  situation  as  a 
means  of  underpaying  their  labor,  and  even  when  de- 
mands for  increases  were  wholly  or  partially  met  there 
was  usually  a  mental  calculation  that  the  new  scale  was, 
after  all,  much  less  than  normal  wages.  Factories  which 
had  reopened  were  selling  their  products  on  a  gold  basis, 
and  paying  their  labor  with  cheap  paper.  Mines,  pro- 
ducing gold  and  silver,  were  paying  wages  in  depreci- 
ated currency.  To  correct  these  conditions,  a  decree 
was  issued  in  October,  1916,  providing  that  all  salaries 
and  wages  should  be  paid  on  a  gold  basis, —  in  gold  or 
silver,  or  in  paper  at  an  equivalent  to  be  fixed  by  the 
government  every  ten  days.  Under  this  plan,  a  drop  in 
the  gold  value  of  the  peso  would  be  compensated  by 
an  increase  in  paper  pay.  An  amplification  of  this  de- 
cree provided  that,  in  general,  salaries  and  wages  should 
be  at  least  60%  of  those  paid  in  normal  times,  and  that 
as  conditions  improved  increases  should  be  made  to 
70%,  80%,  and  so  on  until  normal  wages  should  be 
restored.  The  government  had  for  some  months  real- 
ized that  conditions  would  never  be  satisfactory  until 
the  currency  was  stabilized,  and,  as  such  stabilization 
was  impossible,  the  next  best  thing  was  to  arrange  mat- 
ters so  that  the  purchasing  power  of  wages  would  be 
constant.  The  decree  referred  to  was  met  with  jeers 
by  most  people,  who  saw  in  it  only  the  government's 
admission  of  its  inability  to  control  the  exchange  situa- 
tion. However,  it  was  soon  clearly  demonstrated  that 
the  decree  was  to  be  of  far-reaching  consequences.  Its 
first  effect  was  to  make  labor  more  contented  and  to  put 
an  end  to  the  innumerable  strikes,  lockouts  and  shut- 
downs which  had  been  so  prevalent.     The  next  effect 


CAKRANZA  AND  HIS  TEOUBLES      187 

was  that,  with  wages  fixed  on  a  gold  basis,  even  if  pay- 
able in  paper  equivalent,  the  employer  class  could  not 
save  much  by  paper  payments,  and  was  the  more  likely 
to  accept  the  demands  for  payments  in  gold  and  silver. 
Employers  soon  began  paying  on  a  part-paper,  part- 
metal  basis,  and  before  long  a  large  part  of  all  pay- 
ments of  wages  were  being  made  in  "  hard  "  currency. 
Gold,  silver  and  fractional  currency,  kept  in  hoarding 
for  three  or  four  years,  began  again  to  circulate.  The 
working  class  soon  demanded  all  wages  in  gold  and 
silver.  This,  in  turn,  further  depreciated  the  peso, 
which,  in  November,  dropped  from  about  two  cents  to 
four-tenths  of  a  cent.  The  government  then  came  out 
with  a  decree  declaring  a  moratorium  on  paper  and 
placing  all  business  transactions,  salaries  and  wages  on 
a  straight  gold  basis.  The  question  of  redemption  of 
outstanding  paper  money  was  to  be  dealt  with  later. 
The  resumption  of  metal  currency  payments  immedi- 
ately stimulated  every  line  of  business,  and  this,  in  turn, 
soon  led  to  increases  in  wages  to  the  figures  paid  in  1912 
and  1913.  More  wages  meant  more  buying  power,  and 
factories  soon  jumped  back  to  something  like  normal 
production,  resulting,  in  turn,  of  a  heavy  drop  in  the 
number  of  unemployed.  The  peso,  worth  one  cent  on 
November  thirtieth,  and  dropping  to  four-tenths  of  a 
cent  at  the  end  of  the  month,  on  December  sixth  was 
back  at  its  old  value  of  50  cents. 

To  say  that  the  change  and  its  consequences  were 
amazing  would  be  putting  it  mildly.  Eor  nearly  three 
years  gold  and  silver  coins  had  been  rarely  seen,  and 
had,  in  fact,  vanished  so  completely  that  they  might 
never  have  existed.  They  could  be  bought  from  bankers 
and  brokers,  chiefly  for  foreign  transactions,  but  during 
this  time  the  entire  business  of  the  country  was  done  in 
paper.     Then  gold  and  silver  began  to  be  used  in  shops 


188     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MORROW 

dealing  in  imported  goods  —  they  sold  for  metal  only, 
but  at  first  gave  nothing  but  paper  change.  Then  this 
had  extended  to  other  shops.  Then,  following  the  de- 
cree called  ley  de  pagos,  or  wage  law,  already  referred 
to,  the  whole  country  suddenly  awoke  to  find  itself  back 
on  a  sound  currency  basis.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  finan- 
cial history  of  any  country  contains  an  example  of  as 
drastic  a  change  as  this. 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  change  was  to  create  a 
shortage  in  currency.  The  amount  in  circulation  was 
comparatively  limited.  With  the  banks  closed,  checks 
could  not  be  used,  so  that  even  large  transactions  had  to 
be  handled  in  coin.  This,  coupled  with  the  demand 
for  payrolls  and  ordinary  trade,  immediately  sent  cur- 
rency to  a  premium,  which  for  a  few  days  was  as  high 
as  ten  and  twelve  per  cent.  In  other  words,  to  buy  five 
hundred  pesos  in  gold  you  had  to  pay,  in  New  York 
exchange  or  other  equivalent,  five  hundred  and  fifty 
pesos.  To  meet  this  situation  the  large  concerns  im- 
ported American  gold  and  bills,  which,  for  a  time,  cir- 
culated freely.  The  government  opened  its  mint  to  free 
coinage,  and  the  large  mining  companies  turned  all  their 
bullion  in  for  coinage.  These  companies  would  deposit 
a  certain  amount  of  bullion,  and,  on  later  receiving  its 
equivalent  in  coin,  would  meet  their  payrolls  and  sell 
the  balance  against  New  York  exchange.  The  mint  was 
soon  coining  new  money  at  a  rate  of  half  a  million  pesos 
a  day,  and  within  a  month  the  premium  on  currency 
had  dropped  to  nominal  figures. 

A  curious  problem,  which,  somewhat  later,  confronted 
the  government,  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection. 
The  Mexican  silver  dollar  had,  normally,  an  intrinsic  or 
metal  value  of  45  cents,  more  or  less,  depending  on  the 
market  price  of  silver.  The  metal  for  years  was  worth 
in  the  neighborhood  of  50  cents  an  ounce.     Higher- 


CAKRANZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES       189 

jH'ieed  silver  in  the  boom  of  1906-7  sent  the  metal  value 
of  the  peso  to  about  57  cents,  and  low  metal  prices  had 
sent  this  value  down  to  37  cents  at  certain  times.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  however,  the  value  fluctuated  between 
■15  cents  and  50  cents.  With  the  rapid  rise  in  silver 
price  in  1917  the  peso  value  (intrinsic)  went  to  62 
cents  —  or  a  premium  of  about  25  per  cent,  on  the  legal 
value.  This  was  bound  to  drive  pesos  out  of  circula- 
tion, and  the  government,  as  fast  as  thev  were  turned  in 
for  taxes,  and  so  forth,  recoined  them  into  half  pesos 
pieces  having  a  greater  percentage  of  alloy.  To  force 
the  coins  into  government  hands  United  States  gold  was 
placed  at  a  discount  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent.,  and 
United  States  Treasury  and  National  Bank  notes  at 
twelve  and  one-half  per  cent,  discount.  These  dis- 
counts, while  seemingly  absurd,  compelled  people  who 
had  taxes  to  pay,  to  find  Mexican  gold  or  silver  coin, 
and  the  latter  was  then  recoined  into  currency  whose 
intrinsic  value  was  lower  than  its  legal  value.  In  mid- 
summer, however,  silver  took  another  shoot  upward, 
reaching,  early  in  the  Fall,  a  high-water  figure  of  $1.08 
an  ounce,  or  more  than  double  its  ordinary  value.  With 
this  sudden  increase  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  "  toston," 
or  half-peso  piece,  went  far  above  its  legal  value,  reach- 
ing a  high  mark  of  about  35  cents  again  —  at  a  legal 
value  of  25  cents  —  or  40  %>  premium.  At  the  same 
time  the  value  of  the  Mexican  dollar,  or  peso  fuerte, 
went  to  85  cents,  against  its  legal  value  of  50  cents. 
These  premiums  naturally  drove  the  currency  out  of  cir- 
culation, and  in  September  and  October  there  w^as  a 
great  stringency  in  silver  currency.  One  was  likely,  on 
paying  for  a  small  article  with  a  ten-peso  gold  piece,  to 
receive,  in  change,  a  five-peso  gold  piece  and  the  balance, 
perhaps  four  pesos,  in  copper  coins,  5-centavo  nickels 
and  10-centavo  silver  pieces.     The  peso  finally  became 


190     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

stabilized  at  62^/2  cents  and  has  remained  at  that  figure 
for  a  year.  This  value  is  on  the  basis  of  the  metal 
value  of  two  half-peso  pieces.  On  this  basis,  Mexican 
currency  is  at  a  premium  of  25%. 

The  declaration  of  a  moratoriimi  on  paper  money  left 
the  question  of  redemption  to  be  settled.  A  large  part 
of  the  "  \'era  Cruz  "  bills  had  been  turned  in  on  ex- 
change for  the  new  issue,  and  the  remainder  were  now 
taken  up  by  giving  short  term  bonds,  in  a  ratio  of  one 
for  ten.  The  bonds  promptly  sold  at  a  heavy  discount, 
but  even  at  that  the  Vera  Cruz  money  became  worth 
something  —  about  five  cents  on  the  dollar,  against  a 
previous  value  of  next  to  nothing.  The  government, 
when  "  Infalsificable  "  money  went  to  200  and  300  to 
1,  bought  in  a  considerable  amount,  but  there  still  re- 
mained a  large  amount  —  probably  200  million  pesos 
out  of  a  total  of  500  million  printed  —  in  the  hands  of 
the  public.  What  to  do  with  this  was  a  problem.  The 
government  had  started  putting  this  out  on  a  basis  of 
twenty  centavos  gold,  or  ten  cents,  and  had  solemnly  de- 
clared, by  decree  and  otherwise,  that  it  had  this  legal 
value.  The  government  itself  had,  however,  paid  out, 
in  wages,  pay  of  troops  and  other  disbursements,  the 
greater  part  of  the  issue  at  figures  far  below  this  value, 
all  the  way  down  to  two  cents,  or  even  less.  To  fix  a 
redemption  basis  at  ten  cents  gold  would,  consequently, 
have  meant  redemption  at  a  higher  value  than  the  gov- 
ernment had  received  for  the  bulk  of  the  issue.  On  the 
other  hand,  redemption  at  a  two-cent  rate  would  be 
going  back  on  government  decrees  and  declarations. 
Finally,  the  ministry  of  finance  hit  on  a  beautifully 
simple  and  ingenious  scheme,  and  a  decree  was  issued 
providing  that  on  all  taxes,  which  were  payable  in  gold, 
there  shoiild  be  a  supertax  of  equal  amount  payable  in 
"  Infalsificable  "  money.     In  other  words,  the  taxpayer 


CAERAKZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES   191 

who  had  to  pay  in  gold,  one  thousand  pesos,  was  obliged 
to  turn  in,  at  the  same  time,  one  thousand  pesos  in 
paper.  If  the  taxpayer  did  not  have  the  paper  pesos 
he  could  buy  them  in  the  open  market.  Under  this  plan 
the  government  had  no  responsibility  for  fixing  the  re- 
demption value  of  the  paper  peso.  Moreover,  it  escaped 
all  expense  of  redemption.  The  paper  money  came  in 
automatically.  Under  the  stimulus  of  a  sure  market, 
the  paper  peso  promptly  went  from  300  to  1  up  to  50 
to  1,  and  has  stayed  around  the  latter  figure  ever  since. 
The  taxpayer  was  the  only  sufferer,  but  as  it  cost  him  a 
supertax  amounting  to  only  about  four  per  cent,  of  the 
amount  of  his  taxes,  the  hardship  was  not  great.  If  he 
had  to  pay  one  hundred  dollars  in  taxes,  the  decree 
added  about  four  dollars  to  his  payment.  More  than 
half  of  the  outstanding  amount  of  paper  money  has  been 
gathered  in  by  this  clever  arrangement.  When  the 
supply  begins  to  run  short  the  government  can  reduce 
the  percentage  of  surtax  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  market 
price  of  paper  money.  Eventually  the  whole  issue  will 
have  been  wiped  out  without  any  expense  of  redemption. 
When  the  decree  was  first  put  out  some  of  the  foreign 
taxpayers  did  some  grumbling  over  increased  taxes,  but 
one  and  all  wore  broad  grins  in  discussing  the  ingenuity 
of  the  plan. 

The  paper  issues  of  the  government  were  failures, 
and  were  doomed  to  failure  from  the  first.  The  cur- 
rency fluctuations  caused  much  trouble,  and  discredited 
the  government.  There  is,  however,  another  important 
point  to  consider.  The  revolution  started  without 
money  and  without  credit,  was  financed  through  to  suc- 
cess on  paper  money,  and  the  government  was  finally  in 
a  position  to  go  on  a  gold  and  silver  basis.  W^hen  out- 
standing bonds  issued  on  Vera  Cruz  money  are  taken 
up  and  the  last  of  the  "  Infalsificable  "  bills  called  in. 


192     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

the  whole  paper  operation  will  have  cost  the  government 
probably  less  than  five  million  dollars.  To  put  through 
a  revolution,  maintaining  from  fifty  thousand  to  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men  in  the  field  for  three  years,  is  no 
small  achievement.  From  this  viewpoint  the  paper 
issues  were  successful.  It  is  true  that,  when  the  gov- 
ernment became  fairly  established,  and  particularly 
when  it  had  to  pay  its  troops  in  coin,  it  met  with  a 
deficit,  which,  as  will  later  be  pointed  out,  was  covered 
by  forced  loans  from  the  banks.  The  fact,  however, 
remains,  that  the  revolution,  starting  with  nothing,  was, 
in  spite  of  bitter  opposition  and  continuous  fighting, 
carried  through  to  the  point  where  an  established  gov- 
ernment had  at  least  a  dominant  control  of  the  whole 
country,  and  all  on  paper  issues  which,  when  all  cleaned 
up,  will  represent  a  total  expense  of  four  or  five  million 
dollars.  Whatever  may  be  individual  opinion  as  to  the 
government,  this  accomplishment  is  full  justification  for 
the  issues  of  paper  money.  Much  as  one  may  criticize 
a  scheme  which  was  bound  to  upset  economic  conditions, 
the  final  success  of  the  revolutionary  cause  at  least  shows 
great  resourcefulness  on  the  part  of  the  leaders.  Paper 
money  was  a  creature  of  necessity.  As  demands  grew 
its  volume  was  increased,  and  finally  inflation  reached 
the  point  where  the  supply  was  greater  than  the  demand, 
with  all  sorts  of  evil  consequences  attendant  on  the  col- 
lapse of  issues.  At  times  it  threatened  to  break  down 
the  government.  Nevertheless,  when  all  is  said  and 
done,  it  was  the  only  financial  structure  the  government 
had,  and  it  served  its  purpose. 

There  were  amusing  features  to  the  paper  money 
scheme.  A  mining  company,  needing  a  large  amount 
of  bills,  sent  a  representative  to  the  government  seat  at 
Vera  Cruz  to  buy  bills  with  New  York  drafts.  The 
treasury  did  not  have  sufficient  currency  on  hand,  but 


CAERAN"ZA  AITD  HIS  TROUBLES      193 

promised  to  start  the  presses  on  the  order  iu  the  morn- 
ing. The  job  was  started  next  day,  and  the  presses 
ground  awaj  twv.  days.  Then  the  mining  man,  who 
was  waiting  at  a  hotel  while  his  order  for  money  was 
being  printed,  suddenly  found  himself  fairly  buried 
with  paper  money  —  whole  cartloads  of  it.  lie  finally 
got  it  all  baled  up  and  took  it  home  on  the  train.  Whole 
truckloads  of  paper  were  needed  at  mines  and  industrial 
plants  to  pay  off  men,  and  the  sight  of  motor  cars, 
loaded  full  with  money,  was  not  uncommon.  As  the 
money  depreciated  in  value  people  became  utterly  care- 
less about  it.  Small  bills  were,  in  banks  and  brokers' 
offices,  done  up  in  bundles  of  500  or  1000  pesos,  and 
time  and  time  again  these  bundles  would  go  through  a 
score  of  hands  without  being  counted.  The  money  was 
so  cheap  that  it  was  hardly  worth  counting  —  at  least, 
til  at  was  the  sensation  produced  by  having  slathers  of  it 
everywhere.  As  government  succeeded  government, 
having  in  one's  possession  any  money  of  opposition 
issues  was  a  criminal  offense  for  which  one  was  liable 
to  imprisonment  and  to  a  fine  equal  in  amount  to  the 
money  found  on  the  victim.  People  passed  the  money 
along  as  fast  as  they  got  it,  but  a  few,  usually  foreigners, 
frequently  got  "  stuck  "  with  considerable  amounts  of 
worthless  issues.  One  large  foreign  concern  carried  in 
its  vault  a  million  or  more  pesos  of  Villa  money,  and 
continued  for  two  or  three  years  to  regard  this  sum  as  a 
cash  asset,  although  the  money  had  become  absolutely 
worthless. 

The  usual  operation  of  a  creditor  hunting  for  a  debtor 
was  reversed.  People  who  owed  money  were  always 
hunting  for  their  creditors  and  trying  to  force  them  to 
accept  payment  in  the  currency  of  the  day.  Civil  courts 
being  suspended,  they  had  much  trouble  doing  this,  but 
they  frequently  got  a  policeman  to  go  with  them  to  see  a 


194     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKEOW 

creditor  and  try  to  force  payment  on  liim.  A  decree 
was  issued  in  the  Fall  of  1U16  providing  that  debts  over 
three  years  old  could  be  paid  at  a  ratio  of  five  paper 
pesos  for  every  peso.  This,  with  the  possibility  of  lift- 
ing a  debt,  contracted  in  gold,  at  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent, 
by  paying  in  paper  pesos,  created  a  fresh  rush  on  the 
creditor  class.  Finally,  shortly  before  paper  went  out 
altogether,  various  decrees  were  issued  providing,  in 
general,  for  the  discharge  in  debts  on  a  gold  basis,  ac- 
count being  taken  of  the  rate  of  exchange  prevailing 
when  the  debts  were  contracted.  This,  and  the  return 
to  a  gold  basis,  cleared  up  the  situation. 

Mexico,  for  four  years,  has  been  doing  business  with- 
out any  banking  system,  and  this  extraordinary  condi- 
tion has  been  a  very  serious  factor  in  the  restoration  of 
economic  and  industrial  afi'airs  to  a  normal  basis.  With 
the  general  upheaval  which  followed  lluerta's  fall,  prac- 
tically all  the  banks  closed  their  doors.  In  fact,  many 
of  them  closed  during  the  lluerta  regime.  The  public, 
alarmed  by  the  trend  of  political  events,  began  with- 
drawing money  from  the  banks,  and  Huerta,  to  stop 
these  runs,  issued  a  decree  declaring  all  days  to  be  legal 
holidays.  Since  that  time  banking  business  has  prac- 
tically been  limited  to  foreign  exchange  transactions, 
handled  by  a  few  foreign-owned  banks.  At  first  the 
banks  were  anxious  to  realize  on  commercial  paper  they 
held  —  loans  to  manufacturers,  retail  houses,  and  so 
forth,  but  disturbed  political  and  business  conditions 
made  collections  very  difficult.  At  the  same  time  de- 
positors insisted  on  withdrawing  their  money.  With  no 
money  coming  in,  and  collections  on  paper  slow  or  im- 
possible, practically  all  banks  had  to  suspend  operations. 
Then,  when  the  peso  fell  to  ten  cents,  five  cents,  and  so 
on  downward,  conditions  were  reversed.  People  owing 
money   to  the  banks   wanted  to  take  up   their  notes, 


CAERANZA  AND  HIS  TROUBLES   195 

making  payment  in  depreciated  money,  and  all  sorts  of 
compromise  settlements  were  made.  The  banks  were 
now  as  anxious  to  get  rid  of  their  deposits  as  they  had 
been  to  keep  them.  Every  bank  conducted  a  campaign 
to  induce  its  clients  to  withdraw  their  funds,  but  the 
depositors  objected  vigorously  to  being  paid  off  in  money 
worth  five  or  ten  per  cent,  of  what  they  had  originally 
deposited.  Again  compromises  were  resorted  to,  and  a 
good  many  accounts  were  closed  out.  The  successful 
banker  was  the  man  who,  at  the  end  of  a  month,  could 
boast  that  he  had,  during  the  month,  coaxed  or  bullied 
a  goodly  percentage  of  his  depositors  to  withdraw  their 
funds.  One  large  bank  which  wanted  to  wind  up  its 
affairs  was  only  prevented  from  doing  so  b}^  the  fact  that 
a  long  list  of  depositors  flatly  declined  to  withdraw  their 
accounts  on  terms  offered  them.  With  the  return  to  a 
gold  basis  at  the  end  of  1917  the  depositors  had  good 
reason  to  congratulate  themselves  on  having  hung  on. 
The  return  to  a  gold  basis,  so  far  as  the  banks  were  con- 
cerned, worked  both  ways.  The  commercial  paper  they 
held,  assuming  the  clients  to  be  solvent,  went  back  to 
par. 

The  lack  of  bank  accommodations  put  merchants  on  a 
strictly  cash  basis,  and  any  replenishment  of  stocks  had 
to  be  made  out  of  cash  accumulated  from  sales.  In  the 
unsettled  state  of  affairs,  and  with  risks  of  loss  in  trans- 
portation, many  merchants  would  do  no  buying,  and, 
with  limited  stocks  to  sell,  they  marked  up  their  wares 
to  high  figures,  and  did  all  business  on  a  basis  of  small 
sales  and  large  profits.  Imported  articles  went  to  two, 
three  and  four  times  their  normal  prices.  Due  to  the 
general  depression  all  retail  business  suffered,  but  some 
concerns,  dealing  in  special  lines,  made,  at  the  high 
prices  prevailing,  more  money  than  they  had  ever  made 
under  normal  conditions.     One  foreign  concern,  with 


106     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

ample  cash  to  keep  its  stocks  of  goods  up,  cleared  over 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  1910,  as  against  a  best  previ- 
ous record  of  half  that  amount. 

Soon  after  paper  money  made  its  appearance  the  gov- 
ernment became  involved  in  a  wrangle  with  the  banks, 
charging  that  they  were  responsible  for  the  depreciation 
of  the  currency.  It  was  alleged  that  the  banks 
"  pegged  "  the  rate  of  exchange  day  by  day,  and,  know- 
iiig  in  advance  what  rates  would  be,  made  large  profits 
by  going  short  on  the  money  market.  The  bankers  al- 
ways had  a  fair  idea  of  what  foreign  exchange  demands 
were,  and  they  could  judge,  by  ofi'erings  from  brokers, 
of  the  amount  of  paper  money  available.  They  were 
thus  able  to  calculate,  with  some  degree  of  accuracy, 
what  exchange  was  likely  to  be  the  day  following,  or 
even  two  or  three  days  in  advance.  Doubtless  some  of 
them  made  money  by  speculation,  and,  as  with  increas- 
ing quantities  of  paper  the  tendency  of  the  market  was 
downward,  they  were  usually  on  the  short  side  of  the 
market.  While  the  banks,  or  some  of  them,  profited 
by  the  situation,  the  contention  that  they  deliberately 
ruined  paj)er  money  appears  to  be  unfounded.  A  bank, 
of  all  institutions,  requires  economic  stability,  and  that 
a  group  of  banks  would  deliberately  set  out  to  ruin  the 
currency  of  a  country  seems  preposterous.  The  basic 
trouble  lay  in  the  inherent  weakness  of  the  currency. 
The  bills  were  promises  to  pay,  issued  solely  on  the 
credit  of  the  government  —  backed  by  faith  only.  In 
the  chaotic  conditions  prevailing  no  one  had  much  faith, 
and  this,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  a  fresh  supply  of 
bills  was  pouring  out  of  the  treasury  at  the  rate  of  a 
million  pesos  or  more  per  day,  naturally  resulted  in  a 
steady  decline.  As  pointed  out  before,  the  government 
had  no  choice  in  the  matter.  It  had  to  put  out  paper 
money  to  meet  its  military  and  civil   expenses,  and, 


CAEEAI^ZA  AND  HIS  TKOUBLES       197 

everything  considered,  its  paper  operations  served  their 
purpose.  The  unfortunate  feature  of  the  matter  was 
that  some  of  the  public  officials  became  convinced  that 
the  banks  had  combined  to  discredit  the  government  and 
its  currency,  and  were  willing,  if  necessary,  to  pull  down 
the  whole  economic  structure  of  the  country  to  bring 
about  a  political  change.  This  reasoning,  combined 
with  the  impression  that  the  banks  were  all  making  huge 
profits  out  of  declines  in  exchange,  led  to  the  most  unfor- 
tunate results.  From  time  to  time  bank  managers  and 
directors  were  arrested  and  jailed,  and  decrees  were 
issued  suspending  the  circulation  of  bank  notes, —  acts 
which  tended  to  discredit  the  government  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  Under  former  banking  laws  banks  could 
put  out  in  circulation  bills  secured  by  fifty  per  cent,  of 
cash  and  bullion  and  fifty  per  cent,  of  commercial  paper, 
mortgages  and  other  assets.  In  the  summer  of  1916  a 
decree  was  issued  requiring  the  banks  to  bring  their 
cash  assets  up  to  the  full  legal  requirements,  a  condition 
impossible,  in  most  cases,  to  comply  with.  As  a  result 
of  this  decree  the  National  Bank  of  Mexico,  controlled 
by  French  interests,  and  the  Bank  of  London  and  Mex- 
ico, chiefly  owned  in  England,  were  declared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  liquidation,  and  the  government  named  liqui- 
dators to  take  charge. 

The  government,  meanwhile,  had  been  obliged  to  meet 
a  large  part  of  its  expenses  with  gold  payments.  There 
was  no  gold  in  the  treasury,  and  there  was  a  deficit 
amounting  to  some  ten  million  pesos  per  month.  To 
meet  this  situation  the  government  forced  loans  from 
the  National  Bank  and  Bank  of  London  and  Mexico, 
and  repeated  the  operation  several  times,  finally  prac- 
tically exhausting  their  bullion  and  cash  reserves.  Hos- 
tile foreigners  refer  to  this  operation  as  the  looting  of 
the  banks.     Drastic  as  this  action  was,  there  was  good 


198     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

ground  on  which  to  justify  it.  The  government  had 
already  increased  taxes  to  as  high  a  point  as  good  policy 
would  warrant,  and  any  considerable  increase  of  revenue 
from  this  direction  was  impossible.  In  the  demoral- 
ized condition  of  business,  an  internal  loan  would  have 
been  a  total  failure.  A  foreign  loan  under  the  condi- 
tions was  impossible.  The  government,  after  four  years 
of  fighting,  had  established  itself  and  was  bringing  order 
out  of  chaos.  Money  had  to  be  found  with  which  to 
pay  troops,  or  the  army  would  revolt,  and  a  new  up- 
heaval, on  top  of  several  turbulent  years,  would  inevit- 
ably have  resulted  in  a  state  of  anarchy.  The  money 
in  the  banks  was  the  only  money  available,  and  it  was 
taken  as  the  only  way  out  of  a  very  difficult  situation. 
Since  that  time  the  revenues  of  the  government,  due  to 
gradual  normalization  of  conditions,  have  increased 
steadily,  and  present  income  is  sufficient  to  take  care  of 
current  needs.  When  a  loan  can  be  floated  the  banks 
will  have  to  be  repaid,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  people  most 
competent  to  judge,  they  will  eventually  be  properly 
taken  care  of. 

The  government  contemplates  at  some  future  date  the 
starting  of  a  new  bank  of  issue,  to  be  backed  by  cash 
assets  derived  from  the  sale  of  certain  railway  interests 
and  from  other  immediate  and  future  sources.  Issues 
of  the  new  bank  v/ill  be  secured  by  its  cash  assets  and 
by  commercial  paper,  something  along  the  lines  on 
which  the  American  Federal  Reserve  system  is  organ- 
ized. If,  with  past  experience  to  guide  future  action, 
due  care  is  taken  to  place  cash  assets  where  they  cannot 
be  used  for  emergency  government  needs,  the  new  bank's 
issues  will  have  public  confidence,  and  the  bank  will 
form  the  nucleus  around  which  a  new  banking  system 
can  be  built  up.  It  would  seem  that  the  safest  way  to 
secure  the  entire  confidence  of  the  public  would  be  to 


CAERANZA  AWD  HIS  TROUBLES      199 

deposit  bullion  and  cash  assets  with  a  group  of  banks  in 
New  York,  London  or  Paris.  There  would  be  no  chance 
of  feeling,  even  on  the  part  of  the  most  timid,  that  assets 
back  of  the  bills  might  be  used  for  some  other  purpose. 

As  pointed  out  before,  some  of  the  banks  of  Mexico 
were  weak  long  before  the  revolution  started,  the  assets, 
in  many  cases,  being  of  doubtful  value.  There  never 
was  any  proper  system  of  bank  inspection,  and  through- 
out the  country  there  had  been  much  looseness  in  making 
loans  to  favored  people.  This,  combined  with  deprecia- 
tion of  assets  which  would,  normally,  have  been  good,  but 
which,  due  to  many  failures  incident  to  the  general  busi- 
ness collapse,  makes  the  future  of  many  existing  banks 
quite  uncertain.  The  general  program  of  the  govern- 
ment to  limit  circulation  to  one  bank  of  issue  is,  con- 
sidering conditions,  an  excellent  one,  as  it  will  prevent 
the  circulation  of  a  great  number  of  bank  notes  of  doubt- 
ful value.  Some  of  the  state  banks,  as,  for  example,  the 
Bank  of  the  State  of  K^uevo  Leon  (Monterrey),  have  had 
good  assets  and  have  managed,  in  spite  of  all  the  up- 
heaval, to  keep  these  intact.  Such  banks  will  be  able  to 
resume  business.  Many  banks  will  have  to  be  liqui- 
dated, but  may  show  sufficient  assets  to  warrant  reor- 
ganization. To  take  care  of  the  needs  of  various  com- 
munities many  new  banks  will  have  to  be  started.  In  a 
country  where  there  is,  even  normally,  comparatively 
little  capital  available,  the  organization  of  a  new  bank- 
ing system  will  present  many  difficulties.  An  adequate 
banking  system  is,  of  course,  essential,  but  in  creating 
it  great  care  will  have  to  be  taken  to  insure  its  sound- 
ness. 

The  sudden  change  to  a  gold  basis  brought  about  a 
rapid  revival  of  business.  Day  labor  jumped  from  ten 
cents  to  fifty  cents,  and  this  created  a  greater  purchasing 
power  in  the  country.     With  the  reopening  of  factories 


200     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

there  was  a  new  demand  for  labor.  Good  prices  for 
foodstuffs  stimulated  agricultural  pursuits,  and  hacien- 
das which  had  lain  idle  for  two  or  three  years  again 
resumed  operations.  This  also  resulted  in  an  increased 
demand  for  labor.  With  work  for  all  who  wanted  it 
many  who  had  been  roaming  the  country  as  bandits 
again  took  up  peaceful  pursuits.  The  improvement  in 
economic  conditions  brought  about  a  great  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  public  toward  the  government.  The 
peon  class,  for  three  years  half  starved,  was  again  back 
on  full  pay,  and  was,  at  least  relatively,  so  well  off  that 
it  became  almost  enthusiastic  for  the  government.  The 
skilled  mechanic  class  was  better  oft'  than  it  ever  had 
been,  with  higher  wages  and  shorter  hours,  and,  forget- 
ting all  its  past  troubles,  became  an  ardent  supporter  of 
the  government.  In  the  middle  class,  shopkeepers  were 
doing  a  good  business,  and  professional  men  and  clerks 
were  again  in  receipt  of  "  hard  money  "  incomes,  and 
for  them  the  new  order  of  things  promised  opportunity. 
So  the  middle  class,  which  had,  perhaps,  suffered  most, 
and  which  had  been  very  bitter  against  the  government, 
now  began  to  speak  for  it.  The  property  owning  class, 
although  still  out  of  sympathy,  began  to  feel  that  the 
government  was  going  to  last,  and  its  attitude  changed 
from  one  of  open  hostility  to  reluctant  acquiescence  to 
the  new  order  of  things.  Thus  the  government,  opposed 
a  few  months  before  by  all  classes,  now  found  itself  with 
a  considerable  public  backing.  It  has  been  said  many 
times  that  public  opinion  in  Mexico  amounts  to  nothing, 
and  that  a  government  only  needs  military  power  to 
live.  This,  with  a  large  mass  of  ignorant  people,  is 
more  or  less  true,  as  was  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that 
the  new  government,  backed  by  military  strength,  pulled 
through  in  spite  of  practically  united  civil  opposition. 
Nevertheless,  the  new  civil  support,  through  removing 


CAREANZA  AND  HIS  TEOUBLES   201 

causes  of  discontent,  greatly  reduced  any  danger  of  or- 
ganized opposition, —  destroying,  so  to  speak,  the  set- 
tings whicli  any  otlier  faction  would  need  to  stage  a  new 
performance. 

Nothing  better  illustrates  the  improvement  in  condi- 
tions than  the  earnings  of  public  utility  corporations 
such  as  tramways,  lighting  and  power  plants  and  rail- 
ways. The  tramways  system  in  the  National  Capital 
in  the  Spring  of  1916  had  had  daily  receipts  of  about 
30,000  pesos,  equivalent,  in  gold,  to  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, while  a  year  later  daily  receipts  were  over  20,000 
pesos,  equivalent  to  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  light  and 
power  company  supplying  all  the  territory  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Mexico  City  with  electric  service,  had  had,  in  the 
early  months  of  1916,  gross  monthly  receipts,  in  gold 
figures,  amounting  to  less  than  twenty  thousand  dollars 
—  and  this  for  a  concern  with  fifty  million  dollars  of 
investment, —  while  a  year  later  the  monthly  receipts 
had  jumped  to  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  National  Railway  earnings  increased  from  less 
than  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  November,  1916, 
to  over  one  million  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
January  —  only  two  months  later.  Similar  increases 
were  made  by  public  utility  concerns  all  over  the  coun- 
try, the  major  part  of  all  increases  being  due  to  change 
in  the  currency  value. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION 

The  government  bad,  for  some  months,  been  await- 
ing an  opportunity  to  return  to  a  constitutional  basis. 
The  dictatorship,  with  Carranza  as  First  Chief,  \yas  an 
emergency  affair,  created  because  of  chaotic  conditions, 
but  its  continuance  produced  an  embarrassing  situation 
in  both  foreign  and  domestic  relations.  Foreign  gov- 
ernments were  unlikely  to  give  a  dictatorship  full  sup- 
port. At  home,  Carranza  and  his  immediate  assistants 
were  occupied  with  a  vast  amount  of  detail  due  to  the 
fact  that  ordinary  constitutional  procedure  was,  for  the 
time  being,  suspended,  throwing  on  them  the  settlement 
of  all  judicial  and  administrative  problems.  More- 
over, many  military  leaders,  knowing  Carranza  to  have 
the  final  say  in  all  matters,  were  constantly  asking  favors 
and  privileges  which  it  was  difficult  to  refuse,  and  the 
reestablishment  of  a  constitutional  basis  would  auto- 
matically cover  the  situation.  Accordingly,  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  hold  a  convention  at  Queretaro  in 
February,  1917,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  a  new  con- 
stitution. The  return  to  a  gold  basis  and  the  general 
improvement  in  economic  conditions  justified  the  claim 
that  the  time  had  arrived  to  put  into  legal  effect  the 
general  program  of  the  Constitutionalist  party.  By  way 
of  preparation  several  commissions  were  named  to  pre- 
pare drafts  of  the  various  sections  of  the  proposed  con- 
stitution. 

The  convention  duly  met  at  Queretaro.     Delegates 

202 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  203 

were  present  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  and  as,  in 
their  selection,  open  support  in  the  past  of  the  Consti- 
tutionalist cause  was  a  requisite,  there  were  no  repre- 
sentatives of  any  other  political  creed.  There  were, 
however,  three  wings  in  the  Constitutionalist  party, 
conservatives,  militarists,  and  extreme  radicals.  The 
conservatives  w^ere  small  in  number  and  influence.  The 
militarists  were  largely  governed  by  selfish  motives. 
The  radicals  were  in  favor  of  the  most  drastic  sort  of 
changes  in  the  constitution,  with  provisions  for  idealis- 
tic measures  for  the  working  classes  and  with  generally 
socialistic  tendencies.  The  make-up  of  the  convention 
was  disappointing.  The  majority  of  delegates  were  men 
of  no  experience  in  government,  many  of  them  entirely 
lacking  in  the  qualities  necessary  to  fit  them  for  consid- 
eration of  the  business  on  hand.  The  government  pro- 
gram, partly  conservative  and  partly  radical,  was  drawn 
up  on  theoretical  lines.  The  government,  from  the  very 
start,  had  received  its  strength  from  ranchers,  lawyers, 
engineers  and  military  men,  and  had  never  received  any 
sympathy  from  the  business  or  commercial  element.  Its 
tendencies  in  constitutional  reforms  were,  therefore,  to- 
w^ard  following  professional  lines  of  reasoning  without 
reference  to  the  practical  application  of  theoretical 
ideals.  The  general  spirit  of  the  convention  was  to  at- 
tempt to  immediately  correct,  by  one  document,  all  the 
ills  of  four  centuries  of  unsatisfactory  conditions. 
There  was  much  wrangling  between  the  different  ele- 
ments comprising  the  convention,  and  at  times  it  looked 
as  if  nothing  would  be  accomplished.  The  government 
doubtless  felt  that  it  was  better  to  yield  some  points  than 
to  have  the  whole  work  fail.  Moreover,  many  leaders 
took  the  position  that  they  now  had  the  chance  to  get  a 
fresh  start;  that  if  reforms  were  not  immediately  pro- 
vided for  by  the  constitution  so  many  influences  would 


201     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

be  brought  to  bear  that  they  would  never  be  brought 
about;  that  it  would  be  better  to  put  through  radical 
measures  and  modify  the  details  later  than  to  do  noth- 
ing; and  finally,  that  the  majority  of  the  convention 
demanded  a  sweeping  reform  of  the  constitution,  and 
refusal  to  comply  would  mean  a  disastrous  blow  to  the 
government.  The  new  constitution,  a  compromise 
measure,  was  finally  adopted,  and  the  convention  ad- 
journed. 

The  constitution,  as  adopted,  has  been  the  subject  of 
much  discussion,  praise  and  ridicule.  The  sentiment 
of  extreme  reformers  in  Mexico  and  the  United  States 
has  been  that  the  document  would  do  much  toward  the 
elevation  of  the  masses.  The  opinion  of  Mexican  busi- 
ness men  and  of  foreigners  resident  in  Mexico  is  that 
many  features  provided  for  are  impractical,  but  their 
denouncements  are  frequently  so  sweeping  as  to  lose 
weight.  The  opinion,  expressed  by  many,  that  the 
whole  constitution  is  too  ridiculous  to  receive  serious 
consideration  is  not,  in  general,  supported  by  a  careful 
study  of  the  matter.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  constitu- 
tion is  idealistic,  and  that  in  aiming  at  ideals  practical 
considerations  of  application  to  existing  conditions  have 
been  ignored.  It  is  equally  true  that  some  of  the  Uto- 
pian plans  would  be  difficult  to  carry  through  even  under 
a  highly  developed  social  scheme,  and  far  less  likely  to 
succeed  under  prevailing  conditions  in  Mexico.  How- 
ever, the  number  of  these  radical  provisions  is  limited. 
The  work,  as  a  whole,  contains  much  less  matter  subject 
for  criticism  than  first  impressions,  gained  from  com- 
mon hearsay,  would  convey. 

In  general,  the  constitution  was  drawn  on  the  lines  of 
the  constitution  of  1857.  Provisions  for  civil  and  per- 
sonal rights,  judicial  organization  and  procedure,  pow- 
ers of  National  and  State  legislatures,  the  duties  and 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  205 

powers  of  the  President,  civil  administration,  and  na- 
tional defense,  are  clear  and  in  keeping  with  similar  pro- 
visions in  the  constitutions  of  other  nations.  Every  pre- 
caution is  taken  to  prevent  a  return  to  an  autocratic  gov- 
ernment. There  were  many  modiiications  of  the  1857 
constitution,  such  as  explicitly  limiting  the  authority  of 
military  tribunals  to  persons  belonging  to  the  army,  and 
to  providing  for  a  separate  place  for  detention  of  pris- 
oners awaiting  trial  instead  of  having  them  confined,  as 
has  been  the  practice,  with  persons  serving  sentences. 
These  and  other  such  modifications  were  made  either  to 
clarify  the  old  provisions  or  to  safeguard  personal 
rights.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  describe,  in  detail, 
the  various  clauses,  and  discussion  of  the  question  may 
advantageously  be  limited  to  the  features  which,  in  de- 
parting from  what  may  be  called  general  practice  or  in 
radically  altering  Mexican  law,  have  attracted  attention. 
Even  a  discussion  of  such  features  must  necessarily  be 
restricted  to  general  treatment. 

Without  reference  to  their  order,  various  items  deal- 
ing respectively  with  the  Church,  with  the  land  ques- 
tions, with  labor  questions,  and  with  rights  of  foreigners, 
may  be  grouped  for  convenience. 

Liberty  of  religious  thought  is  guaranteed,  but  places 
of  public  worship  shall  be  under  government  supervi- 
sion. All  church  buildings,  rectories,  asylums,  convents, 
colleges  and  schools  belong  to  the  Nation.  The  Federal 
government  shall  designate  which  of  them  may  be  de- 
voted to  religious  worship  or  to  the  various  purposes  to 
which  they  have  been  dedicated.  Public  and  private 
charitable  institutions,  for  the  sick  and  needy,  for  scien- 
tific research  or  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  shall  not, 
under  any  circumstances,  be  under  the  administration 
or  supervision  of  religious  orders  nor  of  priests  or  min- 
isters, even  if  the  latter  be  not  in  active  service.     Priests 


206     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKKOW 

and  ministers,  of  whatever  denomination,  have  no  right 
of  franchise,  and  must  refrain  from  political  comment. 

Church  and  State  have  had  no  direct  relation  for  many 
years,  but  heretofore,  while  the  church  was  barred  from 
owning  rural  estates,  it  could  own  church  buildings, 
school  property,  and  so  forth,  and  could  make  invest- 
ments in  city  property.  The  new  provisions  are  de- 
signed to  make  it  a  purely  religious  institution. 

The  provision  for  new  land  laws  are  important  and 
radical.  All  proceedings,  decisions  or  concessions 
which  may  have  deprived  hamlets,  tribes  or  other  settle- 
ments of  community  lands  owned  by  them  in  1856,  are 
declared  null  and  void,  and  all  such  lands  are  to  be  re- 
turned to  their  original  owners.  This  provision  is  in- 
tended to  make  restitution  of  tribal  and  village  lands 
which,  by  various  grants  and  concessions,  or  by  legal 
proceedings,  have  been  absorbed  by  the  large  haciendas. 
Due  to  lack  of  proper  records,  many  of  the  old  titles 
were  faulty,  and,  in  fact,  in  many  cases  there  were  no 
titles  to  community  lands  which  had  been  held  by  tribes 
for  centuries.  It  is  claimed  that  the  great  land  owners 
took  advantage  of  this  situation  and  calmly  took  posses- 
sion of  community  lands,  making  formal  denouncement 
of  the  property  as  waste  land,  or  secured  possession  of 
lands  under  concessions  giving  them  title  to  all  lands, 
within  certain  areas,  on  which  no  prior  title  existed. 
There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  but  that  tribes  and  com- 
munities were  defrauded  out  of  many  holdings.  The 
Yaqui  Indians,  for  centuries  owners  of  large  areas  of 
fertile  lands  in  the  Yaqui  Valley,  lost  all  their  property 
through  this  sort  of  manipulation.  The  general  plan 
of  restoration  of  lands  is  a  just  one,  and  the  only  diffi- 
culty likely  to  arise  out  of  this  provision  is  in  the  case 
of  lands  which,  since  acquisition  by  private  holders,  have 
changed  ownership. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  207 

Provision  is  made  that  each  state  shall  fix  the  maxi- 
mum area  of  land  which  one  person  may  own.  The  ex- 
cess above  such  area  shall  be  sold  by  the  owner  under 
such  provisions  as  the  respective  states  shall  make.  In 
the  event  of  failure  of  the  owner  to  sell  within  the  time 
specified  by  the  State  law,  then  the  state  shall  take  over 
the  property  by  expropriation,  compensating  the  owner 
in  special  bonds  secured  by  the  land  and  guaranteed  by 
the  State,  and  shall  resell  the  land  in  parcels,  taking 
payment  in  twenty  annual  installments  to  cover  prin- 
cipal and  interest.  This  provision  is  designed  to  break 
up  the  great  estates  and  to  enable  the  poor  man  to 
acquire  land  on  easy  terms.  Another  clause  provides 
that  each  state  shall  decide  the  area  of  land  which  shall 
constitute  a  family  patrimony.  Such  land  shall  be  in- 
alienable, and  shall  not  be  subject  to  attachment.  This 
provision  is  interesting  as  an  effort  to  prevent  an  Indian, 
once  he  has  acquired  a  piece  of  land,  from  disposing  of 
it  by  sale  or  through  mortgage,  and  was  doubtless 
prompted  by  experience  in  connection  with  Madero's 
hastily  conceived  and  ill-fated  land  distribution  scheme. 
Madero  seized  large  properties  which,  it  was  claimed, 
had  been  taken  away  from  tribes  and  villages,  and  made 
land  allotments.  The  Indian,  on  receiving  a  piece  of 
land,  immediately  disposed  of  it  to  any  one  who  would 
buy,  even  if  he  only  received  a  few  pesos  for  it,  with 
the  result  that  the  bulk  of  the  land  allotted  passed  imme- 
diately into  the  hands  of  speculators.  The  general  idea 
back  of  this  provision  is,  doubtless,  to  assure  a  piece  of 
land  to  every  family.  The  constitution,  however,  makes 
no  provision  to  cover  the  succession  of  patrimony,  it 
doubtless  being  figured  that  one  general  redistribution 
will  be  sufficient  remedy  for  past  evils.  Another  provi- 
sion of  the  constitution  says  that  "  all  contracts  and  con- 
cessions made  by  former  governments  from  and  after 


208     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOREOW 

the  year  1876  which  shall  have  resulted  in  the  monopoly 
of  lands,  waters  and  natural  resources  of  the  Nation  by 
a  single  corporation  or  individual,  are  declared  subject 
to  revision,  and  the  executive  is  authorized  to  declare 
those  null  and  void  which  seriously  prejudice  the  public 
interest." 

The  constitution,  in  the  way  of  general  anti-monopoly 
legislation,  makes  the  following  declaration :  "  The  law 
will  accordingly  severely  punish  and  the  authorities  duly 
prosecute  any  accumulation  or  cornering  by  one  or  more 
persons  of  necessaries  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a 
rise  in  price;  any  act  or  measure  which  shall  stifle  or 
endeavor  to  stifle  free  competition  in  any  production, 
industry,  trade  or  public  service;  any  agreement  .  .  . 
entered  into  by  producers,  manufacturers,  merchants, 
common  carriers  ...  to  stifle  competition  and  to  com- 
pel consumers  to  pay  exorbitant  prices ;  and  in  general 
whatever  constitutes  an  unfair  and  exclusive  advantage 
in  favor  of  one  or  more  specified  persons  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  public  in  general  or  of  any  special  class  of 
society."  Patents  and  copyrights  are  specifically  ex- 
empted from  the  provisions  of  the  above. 

In  dealing  with  the  general  question  of  monopoly, 
there  is  the  following  regarding  labor  unions :  "  Asso- 
ciations of  labor  organized  to  protect  their  own  interests 
shall  not  be  deemed  a  monopoly.  Nor  shall  cooperative 
associations  or  unions  of  producers  be  deemed  monopo- 
lies when,  in  defense  of  their  own  interests  or  of  the 
general  public,  they  sell  directly  in  foreign  markets 
national  or  industrial  products  which  are  the  principal 
source  of  wealth  of  the  region  in  which  they  are  pro- 
duced, provided  they  be  not  necessaries,  and  provided 
further  that  such  associations  be  under  the  supervision 
or  protection  of  the  Federal  Government  or  of  that  of  the 
States,  and  provided  further  that  authorization  be  in 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  209 

each  case  obtained  from  the  respective  legislative  bodies. 
These  legislative  bodies  may,  either  ou  their  owu  initi- 
ative or  on  the  recommendation  of  the  executive,  revoke, 
whenever  the  public  interest  shall  so  demand,  the  au- 
thorization granted  for  the  establishment  of  the  associa- 
tions in  question.'' 

Provisions  as  to  the  labor  question  will  be  dealt  with 
in  a  separate  chapter. 

Of  especial  interest  to  foreigners  is  the  following 
provision  with  reference  to  ownership  of  lands,  mines 
and  mineral  fuels :  "  Only  Mexicans  by  birth  or  natu- 
ralization and  Mexican  companies  have  the  right  to 
acquire  ownership  in  lands,  waters  and  their  appurte- 
nances, or  to  obtain  concessions  to  develop  mines,  waters 
or  mineral  fuels  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico.  The  Na- 
tion may  grant  the  same  right  to  foreigners,  provided 
they  agree  before  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  to 
be  considered  Mexicans  in  respect  to  such  property,  and 
accordingly  not  to  invoke  the  protection  of  their  Govern- 
ments in  respect  to  the  same,  under  penalty,  in  case  of 
breach,  of  forfeiture  to  the  Nation  of  property  so  ac- 
quired. Within  a  zone  of  100  kilometers  from  the 
frontiers,  and  of  50  kilometers  from  the  sea  coast,  no 
foreigner  shall  under  any  conditions  acquire  direct  own- 
ership of  lands  and  waters." 

This  has  created  much  discussion  and  brought  forth 
protests  from  foreign  governments.  Article  14  of  the 
Constitution  says  that  "  no  law  shall  be  given  retroactive 
effect  to  the  prejudice  of  any  person  w^hatsoever."  By 
inference,  therefore,  the  above  clause  would  not  apply 
to  lands  or  mines  already  owned  by  foreigners,  although 
whether  the  courts  would  so  construe  is  open  to  doubt. 

The  labor  element  did  not  propose  to  be  satisfied  with 
any  general  provisions  as  to  the  rights  of  labor,  and  the 
constitution,  as  adopted,  gives  much  detail  which  nor- 


210     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEKOW 

mallj  would  be  embodied  in  legislative  action  rather 
than  covered  bj  constitutional  provisions.  This  detail, 
covered  by  Article  123,  on  "  Labor  and  Social  Welfare," 
is  sufficiently  interesting  to  warrant  giving  it  in  full,  as 
follows :  "  The  Congress  and  the  State  Legislatures 
shall  make  laws  relative  to  labor  with  due  regard  for 
the  needs  of  each  region  of  the  Republic,  and  in  con- 
formity with  the  following  principles,  and  these  princi- 
ples and  laws  shall  govern  the  labor  of  skilled  and  un- 
skilled workmen,  employees,  domestic  servants  and  ar- 
tisans, and  in  general  every  contract  of  labor.  1.  Eight 
hours  shall  be  the  maximum  limit  of  a  day's  work.  2. 
The  maximum  limit  of  night  work  shall  be  seven  hours. 
Unhealthy  and  dangerous  occupations  are  forbidden  to 
all  women  and  to  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age. 
Kight  work  in  factories  is  likewise  forbidden  to  women 
and  to  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age;  nor  shall 
they  be  employed  in  commercial  establishments  after 
ten  o'clock  at  night.  3.  The  maximum  limit  of  a  day's 
work  for  children  over  twelve  and  under  sixteen  years 
of  age  shall  be  six  hours.  The  work  of  children  under 
twelve  years  of  age  shall  not  be  made  the  subject  of  a 
contract.  4.  Every  workman  shall  enjoy  at  least  one 
day's  rest  for  every  six  days'  work.  5.  Women  shall 
not  perform  any  physical  work  requiring  considerable 
j)hysical  effort  during  the  three  months  immediately 
preceding  parturition ;  during  the  month  following  par- 
turition they  shall  necessarily  enjoy  a  period  of  rest  and 
shall  receive  their  salaries  or  wages  in  full  and  retain 
their  employment  and  the  rights  they  may  have  ac- 
quired under  their  contracts.  During  the  period  of 
lactation  they  shall  enjoy  two  extraordinary  daily  pe- 
riods of  rest  of  one-half  hour  each,  in  order  to  nurse 
their  children.  6.  The  maximum  wage  to  be  received 
by  a  workman  shall  be  considered  sufficient,  according 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  211 

to  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  respective  regions  of 
the  country,  to  satisfy  the  normal  needs  of  the  life  of  the 
workman,  his  education  and  his  lawful  pleasures,  con- 
sidering him  as  the  head  of  a  family.  In  all  agricul- 
tural, commercial,  manufacturing  or  mining  enterprises 
the  workmen  shall  have  the  right  to  participate  in  the 
profits  in  the  manner  fixed  in  Clause  IX  of  this  article. 
7.  The  same  compensation  shall  be  paid  for  the  same 
work,  without  regard  to  sex  or  nationality.  8.  The 
maximum  wage  shall  be  exempt  from  attachment,  set- 
oif  or  discount.  9.  The  determination  of  the  minimum 
wage  and  of  the  rate  of  profit-sharing  described  in 
Clause  VI  shall  be  made  by  special  commissions  to  be 
appointed  in  each  municipality  and  to  be  subordinated 
to  the  Central  Board  of  Conciliation  to  be  established  in 
each  State.  10.  All  wages  shall  be  paid  in  legal  cur- 
rency and  shall  not  be  paid  in  merchandise,  orders, 
counters  or  any  other  representative  token  with  which 
it  is  sought  to  substitute  money.  11.  When  owing  to 
special  circumstances  it  becomes  necessary  to  increase 
the  working  hours,  there  shall  be  paid  as  wages  for  the 
overtime  one  hundred  per  cent,  more  than  those  fixed 
for  regular  time.  In  no  case  shall  the  overtime  exceed 
three  hours  nor  continue  for  more  than  three  consecu- 
tive days ;  and  no  women  of  whatever  age  nor  boys  under 
sixteen  years  of  age  may  engage  in  overtime  work. 
12.  In  every  agricultural,  industrial,  mining  or  other 
class  of  work  employers  are  bound  to  furnish  their  work- 
men comfortable  and  sanitary  dwelling-places,  for  which 
they  may  charge  rents  not  exceeding  one-half  of  one  per 
cent,  per  month  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  properties. 
They  shall  likewise  establish  schools,  dispensaries  and 
other  services  necessary  to  the  community.  If  the  fac- 
tories are  located  within  inhabited  places  and  more  than 
one  hundred  persons  are  employed  therein,  the  first  of 


212     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

the  above-meutioued  conditions  shall  be  complied  with. 

13.  Furthermore,  there  shall  be  set  aside  in  these  labor 
centers  whenever  their  population  exceeds  two  hundred 
inhabitants,  a  space  of  land  not  less  than  five  thousand 
square  meters  for  the  establishment  of  public  markets, 
and  the  construction  of  buildings  designed  for  municipal 
services  and  place  of  amusement.  No  saloons  nor  gam- 
bling houses  shall  be  permitted  in  such  labor  centers. 

14.  Employers  shall  be  liable  for  labor  accidents  and 
occupational  diseases  arising  from  work;  therefore,  em- 
ployers shall  pay  the  proper  indemnity,  according  to 
whether  death  or  merely  temporary  or  permanent  dis- 
ability has  ensued,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
law.  This  liability  shall  remain  in  force  even  though 
the  employer  contract  for  the  work  through  an  agent. 

15.  Employers  shall  be  bound  to  observe  in  the  installa- 
tion of  their  establishments  all  the  provisions  of  law  re- 
garding hygiene  and  sanitation  and  to  adopt  adequate 
measures  to  prevent  accidents  due  to  the  use  of  machin- 
ery, tools  and  working  materials,  as  well  as  to  organize 
work  in  such  a  manner  as  to  assure  the  greatest  guar- 
antees possible  for  the  health  and  lives  of  workmen  com- 
patible with  the  nature  of  the  work,  under  penalties 
which  the  law  shall  determine.  16.  Workmen  and  em- 
ployers shall  have  the  right  to  unite  for  the  defense  of 
their  respective  interests,  by  forming  syndicates,  unions, 
etc.  17.  The  law  shall  recognize  the  right  of  workmen 
and  employers  to  strike  and  to  lockout.  18.  Strikes 
shall  be  lawful  when  by  the  employment  of  peaceful 
means  they  shall  aim  to  bring  a  balance  between  the 
various  factors  of  production,  and  to  harmonize  the 
rights  of  capital  and  labor.  In  the  case  of  public  serv- 
ices, the  workmen  shall  be  obliged  to  give  notice  ten 
days  in  advance  to  the  Board  of  Conciliation  and  Arbi- 
tration  of  the   date   set  for  the   suspension  of  work. 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  213 

Strikes  shall  only  be  considered  unlawful  when  the  ma- 
jority of  the  strikers  shall  resort  to  acts  of  violence 
against  persons  or  property,  or  in  case  of  war  when  the 
strikers  belong  to  establishments  and  services  dependent 
on  the  government.  Employees  of  military  manufac- 
turing establishments  of  the  Eederal  Government  shall 
not  be  included  in  the  provisions  of  this  clause,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  a  dependency  of  the  national  army.  ID. 
Lockouts  shall  only  be  lawful  when  the  excess  of  produc- 
tion shall  render  it  necessary  to  shut  down  in  order  to 
maintain  prices  reasonably  above  the  cost  of  production, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Conciliation  and 
Arbitration.  20.  Differences  or  disputes  between  capi- 
tal and  labor  shall  be  submitted  for  settlement  to  a  board 
of  conciliation  and  arbitration  to  consist  of  an  equal 
number  of  representatives  of  the  workmen  and  of  the 
employers  and  of  one  representative  of  the  Government. 
21.  If  the  employer  shall  refuse  to  submit  his  differences 
to  arbitration  or  to  accept  the  award  rendered  by  the 
Board,  the  labor  contract  shall  be  considered  as  termi- 
nated, and  the  employer  shall  be  bound  to  indemnify 
the  workman  by  the  payment  to  him  of  three  months' 
wages,  in  addition  to  the  liability  which  he  may  have 
incurred  by  reason  of  the  dispute.  If  the  workman  re- 
ject the  award,  the  contract  will  be  held  to  have  termi- 
nated. 22.  An  employer  who  discharges  a  workman 
without  proper  cause  or  for  having  joined  a  union  or 
syndicate  or  for  having  taken  part  in  a  lawful  strike 
shall  be  bound,  at  the  option  of  the  workman,  either  to 
perform  the  contract  or  to  indemnify  him  by  the  pay- 
ment of  three  months'  wages.  He  shall  incur  the  same 
liability  if  the  workman  shall  leave  his  service  on  ac- 
count of  the  lack  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ployer or  of  maltreatment  either  as  to  his  own  person  or 
that  of  his  wife,  parents,  children  or  brothers  or  sisters. 


214     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

The  employer  cannot  evade  this  liability  when  the  mal- 
treatment is  inflicted  by  subordinates  or  agents  acting 
with  his  consent  or  knowledge.     23.  Claims  of  workmen 
for  salaries  or  wages  accrued  during  the  past  year  and 
other  indemnity  claims  shall  be  preferred  over  any  other 
claims,    in   case   of   bankruptcy    or   composition.     24. 
Debts  contracted  by  workmen  in  favor  of  their  employ- 
ers or  their  employers'  associates,  subordinates  or  agents, 
may  only  be  charged  against  the  workmen  themselves 
and  in  no  case  and  for  no  reason  collected  from  the 
members  of  his  family.     Nor  shall  such  debts  be  paid 
by  the  taking  of  more  than  the  entire  wages  of  the  work- 
man for  any  one  month.     25.  No  fee  shall  be  charged 
for  finding  work  for  workmen  by  municipal  offices,  em- 
ployment bureaus  or  other  public  or  private  agencies. 
26.  Every  contract  of  labor  between  a  Mexican  citizen 
and  a  foreign  principal  shall  be  legalized  before  the  com- 
petent municipal  authority  and  viseed  by  the  consul  of 
the  nation  to  which  the  workman  is  undertaking  to  go, 
on  the  understanding  that,   in  addition  to  the   usual 
clauses,  special  and  clear  provisions  shall  be  inserted 
for  the  payment  by  the  foreign  principal  making  the  con- 
tract of  the  cost  to  the  laborer  of  repatriation.     27.  The 
following  stipulations  shall  be  null  and  void  and  shall 
not  bind  the  contracting  parties,  even  though  embodied 
in  the  contract:     (a)   Stipulations  providing  for  inhu- 
man day's  work  on  account  of  its  notorious  excessiveness, 
in  view  of  the  nature  of  the  work,      (b)   Stipulations 
providing  for  a  wage  rate  which  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Board  of  Conciliation  and  Arbitration  is  not  remunera- 
tive,    (c)   Stipulations  providing  for  a  term  of  more 
than  one  week  before  the  payment  of  wages,     (d)   Stip- 
ulations providing  for  the  assigning  of  places  of  amuse- 
ment, eating  places,  cafes,  taverns,  saloons  or  shops  for 
the  payment  of  wages,  when  employees  of  such  establish- 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  215 

ments  are  not  involved,  (e)  Stipulations  involving  a 
direct  or  indirect  obligation  to  purchase  articles  of  con- 
sumption in  specified  shops  or  places,  (f)  Stipula- 
tions permitting  the  retention  of  wage  by  way  of  fines, 
(g)  Stipulations  constituting  a  waiver  on  the  part  of 
the  workman  of  the  indemnities  to  which  he  may  be- 
come entitled  by  reason  of  labor  accident  or  occupational 
diseases,  damages  for  breach  of  contract,-  or  for  discharge 
from  work,  (h)  All  other  stipulations  implying  the 
waiver  of  any  right  vested  in  the  workman  by  labor 
laws.  28.  The  law  shall  decide  what  property  consti- 
tutes the  family  patrimony.  These  goods  shall  be  inal- 
ienable and  shall  not  be  mortgaged,  nor  attached,  and 
may  be  bequeathed  with  simplified  formalities  in  the 
sucession  proceedings.  20.  Institutions  of  popular  in- 
surance established  for  old  age,  sickness,  life,  unemploy- 
ment, accident  and  others  of  a  similar  character,  are 
considered  of  social  utility ;  the  Eederal  and  States  Gov- 
ernments shall  therefore  encourage  the  organization  of 
this  character  in  order  to  instill  and  inculcate  popular 
habits  of  thrift.  30.  Cooperative  associations  for  the 
construction  of  cheap  and  sanitary  dwelling  houses  for 
workmen  shall  likewise  be  considered  of  social  utility 
whenever  these  properties  are  designed  to  be  acquired 
in  ownership  by  the  workmen  within  specified  periods." 
The  position  of  the  Church  in  ]VIexico  has  already  been 
discussed,  and  comment  on  the  Constitutional  provisions 
in  this  respect  would  be  superfluous.  The  question  is 
one  of  internal  policy.  The  clerical  party  will  natu- 
rally disagree  with  the  government's  view  as  to  the 
necessity  of  such  drastic  legislation,  and  doubtless  church 
people  generally  will  consider  the  various  provisions  as 
constituting  unwarranted  interference  with  private 
rights.  Whether  the  hostility  of  the  church  party  can 
be  of  serious  embarrassment  is  doubtful. 


216     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

The  provision  that  concessions  which  have  resulted  in 
the  mouopolv  of  lands,  waters  and  natural  resources  may 
be  subject  to  revision,  and  mav  be  declared  null  and  void 
where  they  "  seriously  prejudice  public  interest,"  is  very 
radical,  and  is  declared  by  many  to  be  destructive  of 
property  rights.  It  is  of  a  general  nature.  Doubtless 
it  is  intended  that  future  legislative  action  shall  make 
provision  for  the  method  of  determining  whether  a  con- 
cession is  seriously  prejudicial  to  public  interest,  and 
also  what,  if  any,  compensation  may  be  awarded  in  the 
event  of  nullification  of  existing  contracts  or  concessions. 
While  this  provision  is  very  extreme,  and  bluntly  put,  it 
is,  probably,  no  more  radical  than  much  of  the  recent 
legislation  in  American  states  along  anti-trust  and  anti- 
monopoly  lines.  The  trend  of  all  modern  legislation 
has  been  toward  broadening  of  the  scope  of  "  public  in- 
terest "  as  against  private  rights.  Public  service  cor- 
porations twenty  years  ago  denied  the  right  of  the  State 
to  interfere  in  their  affairs,  but  to-day  accept,  and  wel- 
come, as  a  protection,  state  regulation  and  supervision. 
The  objection  to  the  clause  referred  to  is  made  on  theo- 
retical grounds,  but  the  danger  of  such  a  clause  will  be 
more  through  the  method  of  its  application.  The  same 
may  be  said  with  reference  to  the  provision  for  the  acqui- 
sition by  the  State,  through  the  issuance  of  bonds,  of 
tracts  of  private  property.  Such  a  provision  would  be 
entirely  reasonable,  presupposing  the  financial  stability 
of  the  state.  Practically,  however,  the  property  owner 
will  object  to  taking  bonds  of  doubtful  value.  In  justi- 
fication of  such  provisions  of  the  constitution  its  framers 
say,  and  with  much  reason,  that  a  constitution  must 
necessarily  be  drawn  up  on  ideal  lines;  that  it  cannot 
consider  elements  of  weakness,  safeguards  against  which 
can  be  covered  by  necessary  legislative  enactment ;  and 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  217 

that  it  must  lay  do^ra  fundamental  bases  for  national 
policy  regardless  of  immediate  conditions. 

Provisions  for  the  "  nationalization  "  of  lands,  mines, 
oil  properties  and  other  natural  resources  are  of  especial 
interest  to  foreigners.  These  provisions  were  made 
partly  because  of  past  troubles  in  dealing  with  foreign 
concerns,  and  partly  in  the  hope  of  stimulating  national 
development.  ForeigTi  interests  see  in  such  legislation 
a  generally  hostile  attitude  toward  outside  capital.  In 
theory,  at  least,  the  provision  that  lands  and  subsoil 
rights  shall  be  owned  by  Mexicans,  or,  if  owned  by  for- 
eigners, shall  not  be  subject  to  diplomatic  discussion,  is 
a  reasonable  one.  It  says,  in  effect,  that  a  foreigner 
may  own  real  property  in  Mexico  if  he  places  himself 
on  a  par  with  Mexicans.  To  this  no  reasonable  objec- 
tion can  be  offered.  In  its  practical  application,  how- 
ever, the  foreigner  may  be  at  a  disadvantage.  As  be- 
tween his  rights  and  the  rights  of  Mexicans,  assuming 
that  the  two  come  in  conflict,  he  feels  that  he  would  have 
local  prejudice  against  him,  and  that  Mexican  courts,  if 
called  upon,  would,  in  differences  between  himself  and 
Mexicans,  or  between  himself  and  the  government,  be  in- 
clined to  decide  against  him.  The  general  policy  as- 
sumes stability  of  government  and  proper  dispensation 
of  justice  by  judicial  procedure,  and,  given  these,  any 
opposition  would  be  groundless.  Again,  the  defenders 
of  the  constitution  say  that  in  framing  such  a  document 
stability  of  government  and  honest  dispensation  of  jus- 
tice must  be  taken  for  gTanted.  While,  theoretically, 
the  general  idea  of  full  control  of  national  lands  and 
subsoil  is  a  sound  one,  the  time  for  the  promulgation  of 
the  principle  was  unfortunate.  Mexico  had  been,  for 
four  years,  in  a  more  or  less  chaotic  condition,  with  scant 
protection  for  life  and  property,  and  with  a  total  su»- 


218     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

pension  of  all  judicial  procedure.  The  very  govern- 
ment which  was  proposing  this  radical  change  in  policy 
was,  in  the  act  of  providing  a  constitution,  just  emerg- 
ing from  a  dictatorship  which  had  declared  all  consti- 
tutional rights  inoperative.  It  is  true  that  the  govern- 
ment, in  advocating  a  constitution,  was  giving  evidence 
of  its  good  faith,  and  while  no  one  doubted  but  that  its 
intentions  were  good,  there  was  still  much  skepticism  as 
to  its  ability  to  carry  out  its  ideals.  Foreigners  felt  that 
such  a  policy,  advocated  by  a  government  which,  over  a 
period  of  years,  had  proved  its  stability  and  the  honesty 
and  fairness  of  its  judicial  system,  would  not  have  met 
with  serious  opposition,  but  that  it  was  expecting  too 
much  to  ask  them,  with  the  uncertainty  of  existing  con- 
ditions, to  give  their  assent  or  to  expect  their  compliance. 
The  general  attitude  of  foreign  interests  will  be  dis- 
cussed further  on. 

The  constitutional  provisions  covering  labor  questions 
have  been  very  generally  criticized  as  socialistic  and  im- 
practical. They  are  an  attempt,  by  legislation,  to  ele- 
vate the  position  of  the  laboring  classes,  and,  as  such, 
are  commendable.  They  assume  that  higher  wages, 
shorter  hours  and  better  housing  and  other  conditions 
■will  automatically  elevate  the  social  status  of  the  worker. 
They  ignore  some  vital  factors  in  the  question.  Cheap 
labor,  the  world  over,  is  cheap  in  quality  as  well  as  in 
price.  Making  all  due  allowance  for  bad  political  con- 
ditions which  permitted  the  exploitation  of  the  laboring 
class,  the  fact  remains  that  the  value  of  the  peon  labor 
unit  is  low  largely  because  his  efficiency  is  low\  Higher 
efficiency  would  come  with  a  higher  educational  and 
intellectual  standard,  and,  had  the  peon  possessed  these, 
he  would  have  made  political  progress.  The  peon, 
through  poor  political  conditions,  has  not  been  able  to 
improve  his  social  and  political  status,  and  this  cannot 


THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  219 

be  done  purely  by  artificial  legislation,  no  matter  how 
altruistic  the  motives.  The  mere  granting  of  higher 
wages  will  not  accomplish  much.  The  immediate  effect 
of  this  is  to  reduce  the  number  of  days  of  work.  The 
peon  has  very  simple  wants,  and  if  he  can  meet  his  needs 
by  working  five  days  instead  of  six  he  will  remain  idle 
another  day  each  week.  This,  with  shortening  of  hours, 
tends  to  provide  employment  for  all,  but  does  not  mean 
material  progress.  Education  will,  in  time,  accomplish 
much,  but  no  matter  how  effectively  an  educational  pro- 
gram is  pushed,  its  results  will  not  be  felt  for  several 
years.  What  is  most  essential  at  the  moment  is  that  the 
Indian  be  taught  to  work  with  higher  efficiency.  A 
desire  for  better  food,  better  clothing  and  stronger  off- 
spring will  not  be  developed  by  constitutional  enact- 
ment. It  has  been  said  that  the  highest  degree  of  civi- 
lization is  indicated  by  the  state  of  savings  accounts,  or, 
in  other  words,  that  a  full  development  is  only  reached 
when  man  is  willing  to  sacrifice  immediate  desires  to 
provide  for  future  comfort  for  himself  and  his  family. 
The  peon  is  far  removed  from  this  state.  He  is,  gen- 
erally speaking,  not  even  willing  to  work  enough  to  bet- 
ter his  social  status.  If  he  has  enough  to  carry  himself 
through  to  next  pay  day  he  is  satisfied,  even  though  this 
represents  nothing  more  than  bare  existence.  Men  han- 
dling large  construction  jobs  in  Mexico  know,  to  a  cer- 
tainty, that  they  will  be  short  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  of 
their  labor  on  the  day  following  payday.  This,  in  rural 
communities,  is  not  due  to  drinking,  but  to  sheer  idle- 
ness. The  peon  gets  his  pay,  pays  debts  for  food  used 
during  the  previous  week,  and,  if  he  has  anything  left 
over,  he  feels  he  can  take  a  day  off.  The  great  problem 
will  be  to  raise  his  aims  and  ideals  and,  through  these, 
increase  his  desire  for  work  and  the  efficiency  of  his 
labor.     Elevation  of  his  status,  with  suitable  legislation 


220     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

to  protect  him  in  his  labor,  will  give  him  a  position  in 
the  world  which  he  does  not  now  enjoy.  In  other  words, 
he  will,  collectively,  be  an  industrial  factor,  a  producer, 
a  competitor.  Failure  to  elevate  him  will  mean  his 
continuation,  and  that  of  national  life,  on  a  primitive 
basis.  The  question  is  not  as  to  whether  or  not  the  con- 
stitutional provisions  as  to  labor  are  drawn  on  sound 
lines,  but,  rather,  whether  their  application  will  accom- 
plish the  purpose  aimed  at.  There  can  be  no  question 
but  that  many  of  the  provisions  are  humane  and  sensi- 
ble, and  that  much  care  has  been  taken  to  eliminate  the 
abuses  of  the  past. 

The  one  provision  to  which,  as  a  matter  of  practical 
application,  a  vigorous  protest  can  justly  be  made  is  that 
specifying  that  labor  shall  participate  in  all  profits,  on 
a  basis  to  be  fixed  by  local  commissions.  The  general 
principle  of  profit-sharing  has  been  advocated  by  many 
social  reformers,  and  has  been  practically  applied  by  a 
good  many  modern  industrial  concerns.  Such  a  scheme, 
applied  in  Mexico,  would  doubtless  be  a  factor  in  stimu- 
lating labor  to  higher  efficiency,  and,  through  this,  would 
probably,  in  the  end,  be  of  benefit  to  the  employer. 
There  is,  however,  little  reason  to  believe  that  society  in 
Mexico  has  reached  a  stage  where  a  scheme  of  compul- 
sory profit-sharing  can  safely  be  left  to  the  decision  of 
local  commissions  or  boards.  Such  a  proposition,  how- 
ever beautiful  it  may  sound  in  the  abstract,  is  entirely 
incompatible  with  the  conduct  of  business  or  industry 
under  existing  conditions.  Primarily,  it  is  inconceiv- 
able that  local  boards  would  be  able,  even  if  honest  in 
their  intentions,  to  deal  with  such  a  vital  question.  The 
moment  when  society  emerges  from  a  purely  primitive 
state,  industry  becomes  national  or  international  in  char- 
acter, and  therefore  essentially  competitive.  Industry 
can  only  succeed  if  profitable,  and  it  is  quite  evident  that 


THE  NEW  C0:N'STITUTI0N  221 

the  views  of  local  boards  on  tlie  proportion  of  profits  to 
be  awarded  to  labor  might  be  so  divergent  as  to  place 
certain  industries  at  a  tremendous  disadvantage  in  com- 
petition with  other  regions.  Moreover,  such  a  scheme, 
if  attempted  at  all,  would  require  a  degree  of  intelli- 
gence far  above  the  average  in  the  commissions  or  boards 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  settling  the  questions 
involved,  and,  further,  much  courage,  in  the  face  of  pop- 
ular demands,  to  stand  by  honest  convictions.  The  com- 
bination of  these  qualities  is  rare,  even  in  a  highly  de- 
veloped state  of  society.  Mexico  has  suffered  from  an 
autocratic  rule  which  has  tended  to  restrict  social  devel- 
opment, and  it  is  therefore  no  reflection  on  the  country  to 
say  that  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  or- 
ganize, in  the  ordinary  process  of  political  operations, 
forty  or  fifty  commissions  composed  of  men  strong 
enough,  intelligent  enough  and  honest  enough  to  deal 
with  such  difficult  and  far-reaching  problems.  That 
such  boards  would  offer  temptation  for  graft  is  mani- 
fest. Even  greater  would  be  the  danger  of  abuse  of 
position  for  political  motives.  The  tendency  of  such  a 
proposition  would  be  to  discourage  those  already  having 
industrial  investment  in  Mexico,  and  to  absolutely  pro- 
hibit any  new  development  along  lines  of  industrial  ac- 
tivity. The  whole  scheme  is  not  only  too  idealistic,  but 
is  calculated  to  stop  progress  along  much  needed  lines. 

Something  may  be  said  along  the  same  line  of  argu- 
ment against  the  constitutional  provision  for  fixing 
wages  by  local  boards,  but,  in  this,  the  case  is  somewhat 
different  in  that  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  ordinary  law 
of  supply  and  demand  will,  in  the  end,  settle  wage  ques- 
tions. 


CHAPTER  XX 
CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

Following  the  adoption  of  a  new  constitution,  an 
election  was  held  and  General  Carranza  was  elected  pres- 
ident. The  election  was,  to  be  sure,  a  one-sided  alfair, 
but  even  if  everybody  had  voted  the  result  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  the  same.  Following  this,  state 
elections  were  held,  governors  being  elected  in  some  and 
members  of  the  national  congress  elected  in  all.  These 
elections  were  the  first  real  elections  held  in  Mexico  in 
many  years, —  in  fact,  they  were  probably  the  closest 
approach  to  popular  elections  ever  held  in  the  country. 
It  is  true  that  people  opposed  to  the  government  did  not 
vote,  partly  because  of  timidity  and  partly  because  they 
felt  that  their  voting  would  be  futile.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  much  keen  rivalry  between  the  various  fac- 
tions within  the  Constitutionalist  party.  The  military 
wing  made  a  strong  fight  to  control  congress,  but  was 
defeated,  the  government  coming  out  with  a  total  of  two- 
thirds  of  both  houses,  the  balance  being  divided  between 
other  factions.  In  the  elections  for  governors  the  gov- 
ernment candidates  were  generallj^  successful.  Con- 
gress was  later  convened,  empowered  the  president  to 
negotiate  loans  for  national  purposes,  for  the  national 
railways,  and  for  the  creation  of  a  new  bank  of  issue. 
Under  the  circumstances  anything  like  constructive  legis- 
lation was  almost  out  of  the  question.  The  government 
was,  moreover,  much  hindered  in  its  efforts  by  the  con- 
stant opposition  of  the  military  party  and  by  one  or  two 

222 


co:n'stitutional  government    223 

political  groups  which  placed  personal  interest  ahead  of 
national  needs.  However,  a  good  start  was  made,  one 
particularly  important  accomplishment  being  the  reor- 
ganization of  a  part  of  the  judiciary,  including  the  selec- 
tion of  members  of  a  supreme  court  of  justice.  The 
names  of  the  men  selected  as  supreme  court  justices  were 
reassuring,  for,  while  few  of  the  new  members  had  had 
much  experience  on  the  bench,  the  majority  were  men  of 
good  reputations  and  in  some  cases  of  high  standing  in 
their  profession.  As  with  most  other  selections  for  im- 
portant posts,  the  majority  of  these  men  were  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  country. 

The  government,  meanwhile,  proceeded  with  the  reor- 
ganization of  national  and  local  administrations,  to  in- 
crease, so  far  as  possible,  the  efficiency  of  governmental 
functions  and  to  put  in  systematic  shape  the  collection 
and  remittance  of  revenues  from  the  various  sections  of 
the  country.  An  American  expert  was  invited  to  study 
the  operations  of  the  various  branches  of  the  National 
treasury,  and,  as  a  result  of  his  labors,  various  divisions 
and  bureaus  were  brought  into  closer  coordination.  An 
effort,  only  partially  successful,  was  made  to  come  into 
closer  relations  with  foreign  interests  having  investments 
in  j\Xexico,  so  that,  by  a  more  thorough  understanding, 
such  interests  and  the  government  could  be  of  mutual 
aid. 

A  steady  and  marked  improvement  in  railway  earn- 
ings reflected  better  industrial  conditions.  The  most 
serious  drawback  in  the  situation  was  a  serious  drouth 
throughout  the  country,  resulting  in  a  very  short  crop. 
This,  combined  with  an  embargo  placed  on  foodstuffs 
from  the  United  States,  sent  prices  to  high  figures,  corn 
reaching  a  price  of  thirty-three  pesos  a  cargo,  or  over 
$2.50  a  bushel.  The  high  cost  of  living  and  lack  of 
work  in  the  fields  resulted  in  the  renewal  of  disturbed 


224     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

conditions  in  some  rural  districts.  During  the  year 
progress  was  made  in  curbing  the  exactions  of  the  unruly 
portion  of  the  military  element.  In  the  greater  part 
of  the  country  civil  administration  was  again  placed  in 
control.  At  the  time  of  writing  (November,  1U18),  the 
government  is  proceeding,  necessarily  somewhat  slowly, 
in  the  reorganization  of  national  and  state  departments. 
The  result  of  efforts  along  these  lines  are  already  seen  in 
the  more  precise  handling  of  ordinary  government  rou- 
tine, particularly  in  the  various  ministries  in  Mexico 
City.  Some  of  the  departments  have  been  handled  with 
great  ability,  and  are,  to-day,  on  a  more  efficient  basis 
than  ever  before.  One  new  department,  that  of  Com- 
merce and  Industry,  has  been  created,  and  deals  with 
commercial  questions,  mining,  oil  lands,  and  industry  in 
general.  The  majority  of  foreign  interests  come  under 
the  operations  of  this  department,  whose  head,  Albert  J. 
Pani,  is  a  broad-minded  man  of  high  qualifications. 

Perhaps  the  most  hopeful  feature  in  the  political  situ- 
ation is  the  fact  that  a  start  has  been  made  in  the  devel- 
opment of  public  opinion.  The  beginnings  are  small, 
and  the  growth  will  be  slow,  but  eventually  public  opin- 
ion will  be  a  great  force  in  Mexico.  The  government 
aims  to  create  a  new  national  spirit  which  will  make  a 
patriotic  appeal  to  all  elements  in  the  country.  That 
serious  motives  were  back  of  the  revolution  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  a  group  of  a  dozen  men  have, 
through  thick  and  thin,  and  in  spite  of  every  conceivable 
sort  of  discouragement,  hung  together  to  give  proposed 
reforms  tangible  effect.  The  government  has  made  mis- 
takes, and  has,  at  times,  rushed  through  ill-advised  meas- 
ures to  relieve  temporary  evils.  It  has  not  yet  restored 
order  everywhere  in  the  country.  It  still  has  many 
grave  problems  to  face.  The  fact,  however,  that  it  has 
established  a  government  and  brought  a  degree  of  order 


co:nstitutional  government    225 

out  of  a  seething  state  of  auarchy  entitles  it  to  much 
credit  and  gives  much  hope  for  the  future. 

A  factor  of  great  importance  in  the  political  situation 
is  the  general  question  of  wages.  Day  labor,  partly  as 
a  result  of  the  political  program  and  partly  as  a  rejec- 
tion of  world-wide  conditions,  to-day  commands  from  50 
to  10070  more  than  formerly. 

BAIL  WAY    OPEKATIOIJ 

The  railways  in  Mexico,  forming,  as  they  do,  the  base 
of  all  industrial  activity,  have  presented  a  serious  prob- 
lem. In  the  ordinary  course  of  military  operations  the 
first  objective  is  to  interrupt  lines  of  communication  and 
destroy  means  of  transportation.  During  more  than 
four  years  of  more  or  less  continuous  fighting,  the  rail- 
ways have  been  the  target  for  hostile  forces.  Track  and 
bridges  have  been  torn  up  and  blown  up  time  and  again 
as  opposing  forces  moved  backward  and  forward.  Roll- 
ing stock  has  been  destroyed  in  wrecks  or  burned  to  pre- 
vent it  from  falling  into  hostile  hands.  In  addition  to 
the  destruction  wrought  by  military  operations,  there 
has  been  a  tremendous  amount  of  damage  done  by  bands 
of  brigands,  who  seemed  to  vent  all  their  venom  on  rail- 
way property.  Doubtless  the  mere  fact  that  the  govern- 
ment undertook  railway  operation  was  a  sufficient  reason 
for  them  to  look  on  railways  as  natural  enemies.  At  all 
events,  no  chance  was  missed  to  wreck  trains,  burn  sta- 
tions, smash  up  engines  and  otherwise  destroy  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  railway  system.  The  govern- 
ment took  over  the  operation  of  the  National  Railway 
Company's  system  early  in  the  revolution,  but  for  a 
time  anything  like  regular  operation  was  impossible. 
Receipts  from  freight  and  passenger  traffic  in  January, 
1915,  were  only  $93,000  (U.  S.  currency),  as  against 
normal  receipts  in  1910-1911  of  about  $2,500,000  per 


226     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

month.  Bj  January,  1916,  receipts  had  been  increased 
to  $501,000,  in  spite  of  depreciated  currency.  There 
was  a  good  monthly  increase  throughout  1916,  the  fig- 
ures reaching  $923,000  in  AugTist  and  then  falling  again 
because  of  the  drop  in  exchange.  In  the  Fall  part- 
paper,  part-gold  tariffs  were  put  in  force,  and  December 
earnings  were  $902,000.  Full  gold  tariffs  then  went 
in  effect,  and  January,  1917,  earnings  were  $1,336,000. 
In  May  the  two-million  mark  was  passed,  and  by  Octo- 
ber the  highest  earnings  in  the  history  of  the  system 
were  recorded.  The  present  earnings  are  about  $5,300,- 
000  (pesos)  per  month,  equivalent,  at  present  rate  of 
exchange,  to  $3,250,000  in  United  States  currency. 
The  figures  in  American  currency  are  swelled  by  ex- 
change conditions.  Earnings  as  given  cover,  however, 
only  cash  receipts,  and  take  no  account  of  services  per- 
formed for  the  government,  inclusion  of  which  would 
show  total  receipts  25  ^o  in  excess  of  earnings  in  1913- 
1914. 

This  showing,  in  view  of  the  physical  damage  suffered 
and  the  consequent  shortage  of  rolling  stock,  is  remark- 
able. The  story  of  railway  operation  in  Mexico  dur- 
ing the  years  1914-1917  would,  of  itself,  make  a  good- 
sized  book.  Engines  which  the  average  railway  man 
would  say  were  fit  only  for  the  junk  pile  were  repaired 
from  day  to  day  and  kept  in  motion.  Wreckage  was 
collected  and  reshaped  into  freight  cars.  In  fact,  a 
very  high  degree  of  resourcefulness  was  shown  in  keep- 
ing the  railways  in  operation.  The  difiiculties  in  the 
matter  of  equipment  were  nothing  as  compared  to  the 
dangers  incurred  by  train  crews.  Train  after  train  was 
wrecked  by  bandits,  and  shooting  at  the  engineer  was 
the  first  motion  in  hold-ups.  The  crews,  at  times  re- 
ceiving pay  which,  in  depreciated  currency,  amounted  to 
almost  nothing,  displayed  amazing  loyalty. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT      227 

Tbere  were  picturesque  features  of  travel,  especially 
in  tlie  early  part  of  10 IG.  At  that  time  tarili's  were  on 
a  paper  currency  basis,  and  one  could  travel  all  day  for 
a  few  cents.  The  cheap  fares  resulted  in  very  heavy 
travel,  and,  as  rolling  stock  was  limited,  the  cars  were 
as  crowded  as  boxes  of  sardines.  Ingress  and  egress 
were  so  difficult,  especially  at  way  stations,  that  it  was 
a  common  sight  to  see  passengers  being  shoved  out  of  car 
windows.  There  was  no  room  for  the  armed  escorts  of 
sixty  or  seventy  men  which  accompanied  passenger 
trains,  and  the  soldiers  rode  on  the  roofs  of  the  cars. 
When  the  Mexican  soldier  moves  he  likes  to  take  his 
family  with  him,  and  every  passenger  coach,  fairly  bulg- 
ing out  with  passengers,  had  on  its  roof  a  motley  collec- 
tion of  soldiers,  women,  children,  red  blankets  and  bun- 
dles. The  women  nursed  their  children,  and  made  tor- 
tillas on  tiny  braziers,  as  unconcernedly  as  if  they  were 
at  home. 

For  several  months  past  the  showing  in  earnings  on 
railways  has  been  somewhat  artificial,  due  to  the  fact 
that,  because  of  lack  of  rolling  stock,  the  major  portion 
of  merchandise  has  been  shipped  as  express  matter.  In 
other  words,  express  service  has  taken  the  place  of  ordi- 
nary freight  service.  This,  of  course,  has  been  rather 
serious,  greatly  cutting  down  ordinary  traffic.  Two,  at 
least,  of  the  large  mining  companies  have  purchased 
engines  and  freight  cars  in  the  United  States  and  have, 
by  arrangement  with  the  National  Eailways,  been  oper- 
ating their  own  service.  One  or  two  trading  companies 
have,  under  similar  arrangements,  operated  a  special 
service. 

The  track  on  the  main  line  from  Mexico  City  to  La- 
redo, Texas,  has  been  well  maintained.  Sections  of  the 
Mexican  Central,  paralleling  this  line,  have  not  been 
operated,  rails  and  other  material  being  used  to  keep 


228     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

one  line  in  service.  The  Mexico  City-Vera  Cruz  line, 
owned  by  a  British  company  but  operated  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, has  been  well  kept  up,  but  the  road  has  suf- 
fered very  heavily  in  the  loss  of  engines,  passenger 
coaches  and  freight  cars.  A  regular  service  is  main- 
tained on  practically  all  the  lines  radiating  from  Mexico 
City.  The  railways  in  the  North  have  had  a  hard  time 
of  it.  The  Mexico  Northwestern  Railway,  running 
from  El  Paso  southwest  through  the  state  of  Chihuahua, 
territory  in  which  the  Villistas  have  been  very  active, 
has  in  four  years  had  a  total  of  over  four  hundred 
bridges  and  culverts  destroyed,  some  good-sized  bridgei 
having  been  burned  or  blown  up  four  or  five  times. 

DEVELOPMENTS    IN    YUCATAN 

The  history  of  the  Yucatan  peninsula  has  been  par- 
ticularly full  of  interest  since  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment began  in  Mexico.  This  peninsula,  comprising  the 
states  of  Yucatan  and  Campeche,  and  the  territory  of 
Quintana  Roo,  is  practically  detached  from  the  rest  of 
Mexico  by  a  long  stretch  of  swampy  land  extending 
across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula.  The  country  espoused 
the  revolutionary  cause  early,  and  the  new  government 
had  relatively  little  difficulty  in  controlling  the  country. 
The  State  of  Yucatan  produces  immense  quantities  of 
sisal,  or  henequen.  Sisal  is  the  fiber  of  a  plant  of  the 
cactus  family  and  is  used  very  extensively  for  making 
certain  grades  of  rope  andior  the  manufacture  of  binder 
twine.  The  land  in  Yucatan  and  in  a  portion  of  Cam- 
peche was  divided  into  large  haciendas,  or  plantations, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  devoted  to  sisal.  The  climate  is 
tropical,  and  portions  of  the  peninsula,  including  prac- 
tically all  the  territory  of  Quintana  Roo,  are  covered 
with  dense  tropical  forest.  In  1916  there  was  formed, 
under  government  auspices,  or,  more  properly,  under 


CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVEKNMENT      229 

state  auspices,  the  Commission  Eeguladora  del  Mercado 
de  Henequen,  or  Regulating  Commission  for  the  Hene- 
quen  Market.  This  commission  undertook  to  purchase 
the  entire  output  of  sisal  and  to  handle  its  export  and 
sale.  The  commission  is  really  a  cooperative  society  of 
growers.  Under  special  laws  passed  to  cover  its  opera- 
tions all  sisal  produced  must  be  sold  to  the  commission, 
which  handles  its  export  and  sale.  A  hxed  price  is  paid 
to  growers,  and  net  profits,  after  costs  of  transportation 
and  selling,  are  either  added  to  the  commission's  sur- 
plus or  distributed  pro  rata  among  the  producers.  The 
government  participates  in  profits  through  a  special  tax 
on  the  operations  of  the  commission.  Formerly  the 
large  buyers  fixed  the  price,  and  it  is  claimed  that  for 
years  a  small  group  of  companies  which  took  the  entire 
output  had  pooling  arrangements  which  automatically 
kept  the  price  down.  What,  if  any,  pooling  arrange- 
ment existed  is  not  certain.  In  any  event,  sisal  sold  in 
Yucatan  for  about  seven  cents  a  pound,  sometimes  as 
low  as  five  cents,  the  figure  being  more  or  less  governed 
by  the  price  of  Manila  hemp.  The  organization  of  the 
Eegulating  Commission  took  price-making  out  of  the 
hands  of  buyers  and  put  it  in  the  hands  of  the  pro- 
ducers. The  commission  took  advantage  of  the  fact  that 
sisal  had  become  a  necessity,  as,  irrespective  of  price, 
sufiicient  Manila  hemp  could  not  be  produced  to  make 
binder  twine.  Consequently  the  commission  was  able 
to  increase  the  price  from  time  to  time  to  the  present 
figure  of  191/^  cents.  Under  this  arrangement  the 
grower  receives  about  twelve  cents  for  sisal,  and  the  com- 
mission, after  paying  taxes,  freights  and  marketing  ex- 
pense, nets  about  four  cents  —  the  profits  eventually  go- 
ing to  the  producers.  The  operations  of  the  commission 
have  been  the  subject  of  attacks  in  the  United  States, 
but  its  contention  is  that  the  producers  are  making  the 


230     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

profit  which  binding  twine  manufacturers  formerly 
made,  and  that  advances  in  price  have  simply  been  in 
response  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand.  There  ap- 
pears to  be  little  doubt  that  at  times  the  commission 
could  have  made  further  increases  of  as  much  as  fifty 
per  cent,  and  still  have  had  no  difiiculty  in  disposing  of 
all  the  product.  The  result  of  this  state  monopoly  has 
been  profitable  to  the  laborer,  to  the  grower,  and  to  the 
state.  Wages  in  the  peninsula  have  been  advanced  from 
one  peso  or  one  peso  and  a  half  per  day  to  three  and 
four  pesos  per  day.  The  state,  with  its  profits  from 
commission  operations,  has  been  able  to  spend  consider- 
able money  in  public  works,  has  bought  control  of  the 
United  Railways  of  Yucatan,  has  built  some  new  rail- 
ways and  is  planning  to  extend  the  railway  system 
through  the  state  of  Tabasco  to  connect  with  the  gen- 
eral railway  system  of  Mexico.  The  commission  has 
several  million  dollars  in  its  treasury,  and  the  state  has 
no  bonded  or  floating  debt. 

Recently  the  United  States  food  commission  made  an 
attempt  to  secure  a  reduction  in  price  from  191/2  cents 
to  15  cents  —  as  a  measure  to  reduce  cost  of  wheat  pro- 
duction. The  conmiission  refused  to  make  any  cut, 
claiming  that  the  price  is  low  in  proportion  to  the  price 
of  Manila  hemp,  and  that  increases  in  the  past  two 
years  have  been  no  gTcater  than  increases  in  prices  of 
other  commodities.  As  this  work  goes  to  press  the  mat- 
ter appears  to  be  deadlocked. 

General  Salvador  Alvarado,  the  State  Governor,  is  a 
man  of  great  capacity  and  much  energy.  He  has  done 
much  to  improve  the  general  condition  of  plantation 
workers.  Owners  of  haciendas  have  been  induced  to 
allot  small  tracts  of  land  to  their  laborers,  who,  during 
oft"  hours,  can  cultivate  patches  of  corn  and  beans. 
Many  of  the  laborers  will,  because  of  high  pay,  only 


CO:^rSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT      231 

work  four  days  a  week,  giving  a  good  part  of  the  extra 
time  to  cultivating  their  own  patches  of  corn,  or,  more 
frequently,  in  blissful  idleness.  This  very  materially 
affected  sisal  production,  the  1916  crop  falling  twenty 
per  cent,  below  normal.  To  provide  sufficient  labor  for 
normal  production  peons  were  brought  from  other  parts 
of  the  country  to  Yucatan,  the  high  wages  offered  being 
sufficient  inducement  to  attract  them.  The  new  order 
of  things  worked  well  for  most  of  the  plantation  owners. 
Labor  had  to  be  stimulated  and  coaxed  more  or  less,  as 
the  peon  could,  on  the  wages  of  three  days,  live  a  week. 
Plantation  owners  who  were  "  on  the  job  "  had  little 
trouble,  but  owners  who  lived  in  Mexico  and  expected 
that,  as  in  the  past,  the  hacienda  would  take  care  of 
itself,  found  a  heavy  drop  in  production.  General  Alva- 
rado  says  that  three  times  as  many  people  wear  shoes  as 
formerly,  and  that  the  desire  for  these  and  for  better 
clothes  —  and  gramophones  —  will,  in  time,  result  in 
steadier  work.  He  hopes  to  eventually  build  up  a  class 
of  small  farmers  and  to  start  them  on  plantations  of 
their  own  in  Quintana  Roo  and  Campeche. 

Over  five  hundred  new  schools  have  been  opened  in 
the  state  during  the  past  two  years,  and  every  village 
and  large  plantation  now  has  its  school.  An  agricul- 
tural college  has  been  opened,  and  each  hacienda  will  be 
entitled  to  send  one  pupil  to  it.  The  government  is 
planning  to  erect,  through  a  new  company  backed  by  the 
state,  a  large  number  of  model  workmen's  houses.  Ex- 
tensive dock  works  at  Progreso  and  other  ports  are  being 
planned.  A  curious  feature  of  the  situation  in  Yucatan 
was  that  the  peninsula  never  accepted  the  Mexican  paper 
currency.  Through  all  the  economic  troubles  of  1915 
and  1916  Yucatan  was  undisturbed,  and  did  all  busi- 
ness on  a  gold  and  silver  basis. 

Vessels  having  cargo  to  unload  at  Progreso  have  had 


232     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AN"D  TO-MORROW 

a  bad  time  with  labor.  Union  rules  as  to  hours  are 
very  rigid,  and  the  men  will  do  no  overtime  work  or 
night  work.  As  a  result  ships  which  formerly  cleared 
in  fifteen  or  eighteen  hours  now  frequently  spend  two 
or  three  days  unloading.  Labor  committees  make  all 
sorts  of  regulations,  and  employers  make  much  com- 
plaint as  to  conditions.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that 
the  people  all  look  well-fed  and  contented.  The  govern- 
ment, by  all  reports,  is  well  run. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
FINANCIAL  NEEDS 

Mexico's  finances  are  of  interest  not  only  as  an  ab- 
stract proposition  but  as  a  matter  in  which  the  United 
States  is  much  interested.  The  direct  obligations  of  the 
government  as  represented  by  various  bond  issues,  for- 
eigTi  and  domestic,  amount  to  a  total,  including  accrued 
interest,  of  somewhat  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  mil- 
lion dollars,  U.  S.  currency.  There  are,  in  addition, 
some  internal  loans  of  minor  importance;  a  certain 
amount  of  bonds  issued  to  take  up  "  Vera  Cruz  "  paper ; 
a  considerable  amount  of  government  scrip  issued  to 
pay  troops  and  civil  employees ;  thirty  millions  owed  to 
banks ;  —  a  total,  including  bond  issues,  of  slightly 
more  than  $300,000,000.  In  addition  to  this  the 
government  is  liable  for  certain  claims  for  loss  of  life 
or  destruction  of  property  during  the  revolution. 
The  amount  of  these  claims  is  not  known,  but  the  gen- 
eral impression  that  the  total  will  represent  a  colossal 
figure  is  highly  erroneous.  The  heaviest  losses  have 
been  sustained  by  the  railways,  due  principally  to  de- 
struction of  equipment.  The  National  Railways  of 
Mexico  estimate  that  for  replacement  of  engines,  pas- 
senger coaches  and  freight  cars,  for  reconstruction  of 
track  work  and  for  rebuilding  stations,  the  sum  of  fifty 
million  pesos,  or  thirty  million  dollars,  will  be  re- 
quired. The  National  Railways  system  represents, 
roughly,  two-thirds  of  the  total  railway  mileage  in  Mex- 
ico, and,  taking  this  proportion   as  a  basis,  the  total 

233 


234     MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^D  TO-MORROW 

losses  would  be  $45,000,000.  This  figure  may  be  some- 
what low,  especially  in  view  of  prevailing  high  prices 
for  railway  equipment,  but  it  seems  safe  to  estimate  that 
sixty  million  dollars  will  cover  the  total  railway  item. 
The  large  mining  properties  at  Pachuca,  El  Oro,  Guana- 
juato and  other  camps  suffered  little  or  no  material 
damage.  The  public  utility  concerns  in  Mexico  City, 
Vera  Cruz,  Monterrey  and  other  cities  have  had  small 
physical  losses.  Some  of  the  power  companies  have 
lost  much  copper  wire,  but  the  plants,  as  a  rule,  have  not 
been  damaged.  Plantations  and  ranches  have  lost  cat- 
tle, and  have  had  some  damage  done  to  buildings.  In 
the  North,  Villa  exacted  cash  from  mining  and  other 
concerns,  but  in  Central  Mexico  the  mining  concerns 
were  not  seriously  molested,  and,  curiously,  through  all 
the  troubles,  never  lost  a  bar  of  bullion  in  transit.  Al- 
together, the  property  losses  were  far  less  than  might 
have  been  expected.  Exclusive  of  railway  losses,  it  is 
probable  that  legitimate  foreign  claims  for  property  loss 
will  not  total  forty  million  dollars,  and  to  this  will  have 
to  be  added  such  awards  as  may  be  made  to  the  families 
of  persons  who  lost  their  lives.  As  the  National  Rail- 
ways will  be  treated  separately,  only  one-third  of  the  to- 
tal railway  estimate  need  be  included  as  a  government 
liability.  Foreign  claims  for  damages  to  property  may, 
therefore,  be  calculated  at  sixty  million  dollars,  and 
compensation  for  loss  of  life  may  bring  the  total  to 
seventy  million  dollars.  City  properties  were  not  dam- 
aged, but  Mexican  rural  properties  sustained  losses 
through  wanton  destruction  of  buildings,  stealing  of  live 
stock,  and  so  forth,  and  thirty  million  dollars  may  be 
included  to  cover  this  item.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
the  total  claims  filed  will  far  exceed  this  figure,  as  there 
is  always  a  tendency,  where  dealing  with  a  government, 
to  put  in  exaggerated  figures,  but,  at  a  rough  calculation, 


rmA:N"ciAL  needs  235 

the  total  losses  (foreign  and  domestic  claims)  which 
could  be  fairly  awarded  may  be  put  at  a  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars.  These  figures  make  no  allowance  for  in- 
direct loss  due  to  non-production  or  to  1  vsses  incident  to 
depreciation  in  the  currency,  the  total  of  which  would 
be  far  greater  than  the  direct  loss.  Of  the  total  foreign 
investment  in  Mexico,  amounting  to  nearly  two  billion 
dollars,  two-thirds  has  been  producing  nothing  for  four 
years,  representing,  at  five  per  cent.,  a  gross  loss  of 
three  hundred  million  dollars.  Mexican  rural  prop- 
erties either  produced  nothing  or  received  payment  in 
depreciated  currency,  and  the  sum  total  of  such  loss 
would  be  very  high.  The  same  may  be  said  of  urban 
property.  Claims  for  loss  due  to  economic  conditions 
or  depreciated  currency  could  not,  except  by  a  wild 
stretch  of  imagination,  be  made  against  the  government, 
and  the  estimate  is  made  on  a  basis  of  tangible  physical 
damage  only. 

If  we  take  the  total  of  claims  at  $100,000,000,  we  may 
assume  that  the  government  will,  w^ith  its  bonded  and 
other  obligations,  have  a  total  debt  of  $400,000,000. 
Of  this,  two-thirds  is  in  bonds  bearing  41/^  and  5% 
interest,  or  calling,  roughly,  for  $12,500,000  in  annual 
charges.  If  the  balance  be  funded  at  6%,  requiring 
$9,000,000,  the  total  annual  interest  charges  will  be  in 
the  neighborhood  of  $21,500,000.  A  considerable  sum 
of  money  will  be  needed  for  public  works  and  other  gov- 
ernment requirements,  possibly  amounting  to  fifty  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  this,  if  included,  would  bring  the  total 
indebtedness  up  to  $450,000,000,  with  annual  charges 
amounting  to  about  $25,000,000.  The  debt,  at  the  rate 
of  $30  per  capita,  would  be  low,  and  the  total,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  country's  wealth  and  natural  resources, 
would  be  moderate.  The  gross  income  of  the  govern- 
ment to-day  is  at  a  rate  of  fifteen  million  pesos  per 


236     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MOEROW 

month,  or,  taking  exchange  at  62,  about  one  hundred 
and  ten  million  dollars  per  year  —  a  larger  income 
than  under  the  Diaz  regime.  Were  it  not  for  the  need 
of  a  large  army  the  country  to-day  would  be  able  to 
meet  all  its  interest  charges.  The  government  to-day  is 
able  to  meet  nearly  all  of  its  current  expenses  out  of  in- 
come. Roughly,  an  increase  of  twenty-five  per  cent. 
in  income  would  meet  current  expenses  and  all  inter- 
est charges,  and  it  would  seem,  ott'-hand,  as  if  the  day 
were  not  far  off  when  all  obligations  could  be  taken  care 
of. 

There  are,  however,  other  phases  of  the  matter  to  be 
considered.  People  holding  Mexican  securities  talk 
glibly  about  England,  France  and  the  United  States 
taking  action  to  force  Mexico  to  meet  her  foreign  obli- 
gations, but  they  ignore  conditions  which  confront  the 
government.  Presumably  no  government  ever  likes  to 
default  on  its  obligations,  and  any  such  default  is  almost 
invariably  due  solely  to  inability  to  pay.  Mexico  has 
made  no  suggestion  of  repudiation  of  its  debt  save  as  to 
one  item  —  an  issue  of  bonds  by  Huerta  and  claimed 
by  the  present  government  to  have  been  an  illegal  loan 
made  by  a  usurping  government.  The  question  then  be- 
comes purely  one  of  how  soon,  and  to  what  extent,  Mex- 
ico can  resume  payment  on  her  debt. 

The  situation  of  Mexico  may  be  compared  to  that  of  a 
huge  corporation  gone  bankrupt.  Some  creditors  want 
a  receiver  appointed  —  in  other  words,  they  want  for- 
eign intervention,  which,  financially  speaking,  would 
probably  increase  the  total  indebtedness.  Other  cred- 
itors want  a  voice  in  the  management.  Still  others  are 
willing  to  leave  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  manage- 
ment —  the  government  —  but  want  some  assurance  that 
they  will  be  taken  care  of.  Foreign  creditors  feel  that 
the  United  States,  because  of  geographical  location  and 


FINANCIAL  NEEDS  237 

more  particularly  because  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 
should  act  as  a  collection  agency  to  get  their  claims  paid, 
and  assume  that,  sooner  or  later,  their  governments  will 
exert  sufficient  pressure  to  bring  this  about.  This  line 
of  argument  assumes  that,  in  some  way  or  other,  Mexico 
must  be  made  to  pay.  If  a  large  corporation  goes  to 
smash  some  sort  of  reorganization  is  usually  provided  to 
conserve  its  assets  and  bring  its  earning  power  back  to 
a  point  where  it  can  meet  its  obligations.  Where  a  gov- 
ernment is  involved,  possession  of  the  property  could 
only  be  secured  by  the  use  of  military  force.  In  the 
case  of  Mexico  it  would  seem,,  on  broad  principles,  far 
wiser  to  have  a  friendly  reorganization  in  which  the 
creditors  could  lend  a  hand  in  necessary  reconstructive 
measures.  In  the  reorganization  of  large  corporations 
sound  policy  calls  for  a  program  of  not  loading  up  the 
reorganized  property  with  so  much  of  a  burden,  either  in 
amount  or  in  distribution  in  point  of  time,  as  to  cause  a 
second  collapse  of  the  financial  structure.  Mexican 
finance,  when  reorganized,  should  be  placed  on  a  basis 
where  the  country  can  carry  the  load  without  staggering. 
It  would  seem  that  if,  in  this  case,  the  creditors  could 
get  together  they  could  reach  an  agreement  with  the  gov- 
ernment as  to  the  general  outline  of  a  financial  policy  to 
be  pursued,  making  provision  for  immediate  needs  and 
arranging  for  a  gradual  resumption  of  payments  on  a 
basis  which  would  not  be  too  onerous.  The  natural  dif- 
ficulty is  that  each  particular  creditor  has  his  own  par- 
ticular claim,  and  he  is  not  disposed  to  make  any  con- 
cessions, even  of  a  temporary  nature.  The  govern- 
ment's general  credit  is  poor,  and  it  has  no  collateral 
which  it  can  put  up  to  get  any  money.  It  needs  funds 
to  organize  and  properly  equip  a  sufficient  force  to  police 
the  country  so  that  public  order  may  be  restored  in 
every  section.     It  needs  aid  in  building  up  a  new  bank- 


238     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

ing  system  and  in  rehabilitating  its  railways.  Given, 
public  order,  a  banking  system  established  and  railways 
in  full  operation,  conditions  will  quickly  normalize  and 
the  country  will  derive  sufficient  income  for  all  needs. 
Until  such  a  change  can  be  brought  about,  the  govern- 
ment can  not  meet  its  obligations,  and  securities  held  by 
its  creditors  will  remain  in  their  depressed  state.  The 
total  amount  of  money  needed  is  not  great,  and,  once  an 
agreement  could  be  reached  there  would  be  little  diffi- 
culty in  finding  it.  The  creditors,  as  in  the  case  of  large 
corporations,  could  well  afford,  in  their  own  interests,  to 
give  new  money  a  prior  claim.  The  mere  fact  of  an 
agreement  being  reached  would,  through  eliminating  un- 
certainty, greatly  strengthen  the  position  of  the  govern- 
ment, and,  through  the  establishment  of  confidence, 
would  tend  to  normalization  of  economic  and  industrial 
conditions.  Katurally,  the  suggestion  of  negotiations 
looking  toward  such  an  agreement  presupposes  a  dispo- 
sition on  the  part  of  the  government  to  deal  fairly  with 
foreign  interests.  Many  people  having  investments  in 
Mexico  have  no  confidence  in  the  government.  They 
do  not  realize,  however,  that  there  has  been  a  great  im- 
provement in  conditions,  nor  do  they  make  allowance 
for  the  fact  that  the  government  must,  for  selfish  motives 
if  for  no  other  reason,  be  anxious  to  do  anything  which 
it  reasonably  can  toward  clearing  up  the  financial  situa- 
tion. Whether  anything  will  be  done  toward  opening 
negotiations  is  uncertain.  The  government,  by  way  of 
a  preliminary  clearing  up  of  misunderstandings,  made 
an  effort  last  year  to  have  leading  interests  send  repre- 
sentatives to  Mexico  to  study  and  discuss  the  situation, 
but  its  proposal  was  somewhat  coldly  received,  and  noth- 
ing came  of  the  matter. 

Mexico,  like  a  good  many  other  countries  has,  at  times, 
given  specific  guarantees  to  secure  loans.     In  this  way 


FINxiNCIAL  NEEDS  239 

eighty-five  per  cent,  of  its  customs  receipts  have  heen 
hypothecated.  The  sug'ii,estion  has  been  made  that  she 
could  hypothecate  certain  taxes,  such  as  those  on  oil 
and  mine  production,  to  secure  a  new  loan.  The  strong- 
est private  corporations,  the  world  over,  are  generally 
those  having  a  limited  number  of  classes  as  securities. 
Concerns  having  niunerous  classes  of  obligations,  se- 
cured by  corresponding  priorities  as  to  assets  and  earn- 
ings, are  never  in  as  strong  position  as  the  former,  and, 
in  the  event  of  financial  embarrassment,  invariably  suf- 
fer through  the  wrangling  between  the  different  sets  of 
creditors.  The  same  is,  generally  speaking,  true  as  to 
national  obligations.  Prof.  Adams  ("Finance,"  p.  4) 
lays  down  as  the  first  axiom  of  sound  public  finance  that 
"  A  sound  financial  policy  will  not  impair  the  patrimony 
of  the  State."  He  says :  ""  It  is  a  fundamental  princi- 
ple of  constitutional  law  that  each  legislature  shall  hand 
down  to  its  successor  all  the  rights  and  powers  and  juris- 
dictions which  it  received  from  its  predecessor ;  so  in 
matters  of  public  finance  it  is  incumbent  that  each  suc- 
ceeding administration  shall  find  as  broad  a  field  from 
which  to  supply  its  needs  and  as  fruitful  a  source  of 
supply  as  the  administration  which  preceded  it.  This 
statement  is  so  reasonable,  and  springs  so  naturally  from 
the  conception  that  the  state  is  a  personality  of  perpet- 
ual life,  that  its  mere  statement  must  secure  for  it  uni- 
versal recognition."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  any 
financing  done  in  Mexico  future  needs  as  well  as  imme- 
diate objects  will  be  borne  in  mind.  There  is  always 
danger  that  under  stress  of  urgent  needs  the  financing 
will  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  embarrass  future  finan- 
cial operations.  Hypothecation  of  certain  taxes  or  of 
customs  receipts  would  only  render  more  difficult  the 
reorganization  of  the  whole  financial  scheme.  A  gen- 
eral reorganization  will,  sooner  or  later,  have  to  take 


240     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:ND  TO-MOEEOW 

place,  and  nothing  should  be  done  in  the  meantime  to 
make  the  work  more  difficult. 

In  any  reorganization  of  finance  it  will  be  well  to 
consider  the  ability  of  the  country  to  pay,  and  to  so 
arrange  the  securities  that  the  fixed  charges  will,  if  pos- 
sible, be  reduced.  The  corporate  plan  of  dividing  up 
obligations  between  bonds  and  preferred  stocks  might 
furnish  a  basis  for  some  scheme  which  would  somewhat 
reduce  fixed  charges  and  would,  at  the  same  time,  give 
creditors  something  for  the  balance  of  their  claims. 
Nothing  can  be  worse  for  a  government  than  to  have  its 
finances  reach  a  state  where  there  is  no  hope  of  ever  meet- 
ing obligations.  If  a  country  cannot  pay  interest  on 
existing  obligations  there  is  no  object  in  piling  on  more 
debt,  and  keeping  up  the  operation  until  national  credit 
is  completely  ruined.  The  Turkish  government,  bank- 
rupt for  a  century,  has  had  its  finances  reorganized  half 
a  dozen  times,  each  operation  leaving  the  country  with  a 
heavier  debt  than  before.  The  creditors  seem  to  have 
suffered  from  the  delusion  that  by  consolidating  various 
debts  and  a  few  years  of  accrued  interest,  by  advancing 
some  new  money,  and  finally,  by  lumping  everything  to- 
gether in  a  new  issue,  they  would  stand  better  chance  of 
receiving  a  return  on  their  money.  The  result  is  that 
Turkish  bonds  for  years  have  sold  at  fractional  amounts 
of  par  values.  In  each  case  foreign  governments  have 
been  instrumental  in  putting  through  some  new  scheme 
of  financial  reorganization  which  in  the  end  has  been  of 
no  benefit  to  the  creditors.  It  is  true  that  Turkey  has 
suffered  much  from  bad  government,  but  it  is  also  worth 
remembering  that  it  has  always  been  badly  handicapped 
by  a  financial  load  it  could  not  possibly  carry.  In  car- 
rying out  general  reform  measures  a  good  national  credit 
is  essential.  I^othing  so  demoralizes  a  government  as 
lack  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  public.     Mexico  is 


FINANCIAL  NEEDS  241 

rich  but  imdeveloped.  Given  public  confidence  and  sin- 
cerity of  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  government,  she  can 
eventually  take  care  of  all  obligations,  but  any  attempt 
to  make  on  her  demands  with  which  she  cannot  comply 
will  only  mean  adding  more  trouble  to  a  complicated 
situation. 

These  remarks  on  matters  of  national  finance  may  be 
applied,  in  general,  to  the  position  of  the  various  Mexi- 
can railway  properties,  and  particularly  to  the  Mexican 
National  Railways  System.  The  total  railway  mileage 
in  Mexico  (exclusive  of  very  light  lines  used  for  hauling 
on  large  haciendas)  is,  roughly,  21,000  kilometers,  or 
about  14,000  miles.  Of  the  total  nearly  9,000  miles 
are  included  in  the  properties  belonging  to  the  National 
Railways.  This  system  was  formed  through  the  con- 
solidation, in  1908,  of  a  number  of  roads,  shares  of 
which  were,  in  part,  paid  for  in  securities  of  the  Na- 
tional Eailwa^^s  Company.  Under  the  arra;igement  for 
consolidation,  the  government,  by  purchasing  certain 
interests  in  roads  being  merged,  acquired  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  conimon  stock  of  the  new  company  and  also 
acquired  large  blocks  of  preferred  stocks.  The  obliga- 
tions of  the  company  as  to  bonds,  notes,  interest,  and 
stocks,  are  approximately  as  follows : 

Underlying  bonds   (Pesos)    ...    138,794,000 

First  Mortgage  41/0 's 169,608,000 

General  Mortgage  4'8 101,479,000        409,899,000 

6%  Notes 67,364,000  67,364,000 

Accrued  bond  interest  due  .  .  .      71,878,000 

Accrued  note  interest  due  ...      14,146,500  86,024,500 

Common  stock    149,607,000 

First  preferred    57,662,000 

Second  preferred    240,745,000        448,014,000 

Grand  Total   (Pesos)    1,011,301,500 


242     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

Kouglily  speaking,  then,  the  capital  liabilities  are  five 
hundred  million  dollars  (assuming  a  value  of  50  cents, 
U.  8.  currency,  to  the  peso),  about  one-half  in  stocks  and 
one-half  in  bonds,  notes  and  accrued  interest.  The 
bonded  debt,  exclusive  of  accrued  interest,  is  approxi- 
mately 45,000  pesos,  or  $22,500  per  mile.  Even  with 
outstanding  notes  and  accrued  bond  interest  the  debt 
(exclusive  of  capital  stock)  would  only  be  about  $32,000 
(U.  S.  Cy.)  per  mile.  This,  in  comparison  to  the  large 
American  railways  systems,  would  be  a  very  moderate 
indebtedness  per  mile.  While  a  large  part  of  the  first 
and  general  bonds  were  used  to  retire  outstanding  bond 
and  stock  issues,  and  while  a  portion  of  these  doubtless 
represented  promotion  profits,  it  seems  probable  that  the 
original  actual  investment  per  mile  must  have  been  con- 
siderably in  excess  of  $32,000  per  mile,  especially  con- 
sidering the  rough  character  of  the  country  traversed. 
The  difference  is  represented  in  losses  sustained  by  orig- 
inal investors,  whose  securities  were  shrunk  considerably 
before  a  general  consolidation  took  place,  and  by  goveru.- 
ment  subsidies.  Taking  present  or  even  normal  replace- 
ment cost  as  a  basis,  the  property,  physically,  is  doubt- 
less worth  somewhere  between  $40,000  and  $42,000  (U. 
S.  Cy. )  per  mile,  or  a  total  figTire  of  between  720,000,- 
000  and  700,000,000  pesos.  To  this  sum  would  have  to 
be  added,  say,  $45,000,000  to  put  the  property  in  full 
operating  condition,  bringing  the  total  value  up  to  $45,- 
000  or  $47,000  per  mile.  The  question,  however,  must 
be  studied  on  a  practical  basis  of  earnings  rather  than 
on  a  theoretical  basis  of  original  or  replacement  costs. 
Gross  earnings  in  1909,  1910,  1911,  1912  and  1913 
were  practically  stationary,  the  maximum  being  reached 
for  the  fiscal  year  1910-1911,  when  receipts  totaled  04,- 
000,415  pesos.  If  the  value  of  the  system  be  taken  as 
800,000,000   pesos,   then   the  maximum   gross   earned 


riNAKCIAL  NEEDS  243 

would  be  8%  of  the  capital,  manifestly  an  absurdly  low 
figure  for  the  capital  involved.  To  put  it  another  way, 
there  would,  assuming  operating  expenses  would  con- 
sume two-thirds  of  gross  revenue,  be  a  net  equal  to  21/2% 
on  eight  hundred  million  pesos.  Net  revenue,  after 
payment  of  taxes,  amounted  to  21,300,000  pesos,  or 
about  2%  on  the  total  present  capital  account,  and 
2l>4%  on  a  valuation  of  eight  hundred  millon  pesos. 
This  was  without  making  any  allowance  for  reserves. 
Clearly  the  capital  account  is  out  of  proportion  to  the 
earning  power,  either  past  or  prospective. 

The  government  position  in  the  matter  is  technically 
weak.  Looked  at  calmly,  the  government  is  only  owner 
of  the  railways  subject  to  many  prior  claims.  The  line 
of  arg-ument  of  some  friends  of  the  government  appears 
to  be  that,  because  the  railways  are  a  national  necessity, 
they  should  belong  to  the  government;  that  because  the 
government  owns  a  majority  of  the  common  stock,  they 
do  belong  to  the  government ;  ipso  facto,  the  government 
can  do  as  it  pleases  as  to  payment  of  prior  claims.  It 
has  been  suggested,  in  the  able  work  on  railways  written 
by  Lie.  Fernando  Gonzalez  Eoa,  that  all  creditors  waive 
interest  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  by  which  time  the 
property  would  be  in  shape  to  take  care  of  all  its  charges 
and  earn  a  handsome  surplus.  This  reasoning  appears 
to  be  on  false  premises.  Such  a  proposition  would,  in 
effect,  be  that  every  one  else  interested  should  make  a 
sacrifice  in  order  that  the  government  should  have  a 
valuable  property  at  a  future  date.  If  the  government 
has  any  hope  of  future  railway  or  other  industrial  devel- 
opment in  Mexico  it  will  have  to  meet  the  question  fairly 
and  squarely,  and  it  must  recognize  that,  legally,  its  posi- 
tion in  the  railways  is  subject  to  other  claims.  To  take 
any  other  attitude  would  be,  in  effect,  to  repudiate  the 
railway  debt,  and  this  is  a  position  that  the  government 


244     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AKD  TO-MORROW 

cannot  afford  to  assume.  Granted  that  it  is,  for  politi- 
cal, military  and  economic  reasons,  desirable  that  the 
government  should  control  or  actively  manage  the  rail- 
ways, such  an  end  should  be  accomplished  in  a  way 
which  will  give  due  consideration  to  the  claims  of  those 
interested  in  the  properties. 

Attention  is  called  in  Mr.  Roa's  excellent  work  to  the 
financial  aid  in  subsidies  of  cash  and  bonds  given  to  the 
railways,  and  there  is  the  implication  that  the  govern- 
ment has,  therefore,  another  interest  in  the  property 
than  that  of  a  holder  of  a  majority  of  the  common  stock. 
It  is  true  that  the  government  did  expend  large  amounts 
in  subsidies,  but  this  was  not  as  an  investor  but  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  having  railways  built.  It  may  be 
argued  that  such  aid  was  unnecessary, —  in  fact, 
Mr.  Roa  rather  assumes  that  the  govermnent  was  in- 
veigled into  onerous  terms  in  the  various  contracts. 
While,  in  theory,  it  should  be  easy  to  get  capital  for 
railways,  in  fact  it  is  very  difficult,  especially  in  a 
country  where  possibilities  from  the  standpoint  of  rail- 
way operations  have  not  been  developed.  The  various 
western  railways  in  the  United  States  had  the  greatest 
possible  difficulties  in  securing  the  funds  for  initial  con- 
struction, and  even  with  large  subsidies  and  land  grants 
all  of  the  roads  went  through  bankruptcy  in  their  early 
years,  because  of  the  lack  of  sufficient  traffic  in  a  sparsely 
settled  territory.  There  is  too  much  of  a  disposition  in 
Mexico  and  in  this  country  to  assume  that  capital  is 
always  seeking  a  chance  to  gouge  somebody,  and  that, 
inherently,  a  banking  syndicate  is  a  monster  looking  for 
some  one  to  devour.  It  may  be  true  that  some  of  the 
terms  in  railway  concessions  were  unfavorable  to  the 
public,  but  it  is  absurd  to  assume,  as  seems  to  be  as- 
sumed, that  the  whole  scheme  of  railway  construction 


FINANCIAL  NEEDS  245 

was  a  nefarious  one  designed  to  put  a  burden  on  the 
public.  There  were,  of  course,  promotion  prohts,  but 
without  some  inducement  of  this  sort  no  one  would  have 
ever  attempted  the  work.  Manifestly,  a  material  reduc- 
tion must  be  made  in  the  amount  of  capitalization,  and 
all  interested  must  be  prepared  to  make  a  sacrifice.  It 
is  clear  that  the  security  holder  would  be  better  off  to 
have  a  tifty-dollar  bond  worth  fifty  dollars  than  to  have  a 
hundred-dollar  bcnid  worth  thirty  dollars.  It  seems 
quite  witliM!  reason  to  believe  that  a  form  of  reorganiza- 
tion could  ue  agreed  on  which  would  provide  new  money, 
cut  the  bonded  indebtedness  in  two  and  issue  new  pre- 
ferred and  common  stocks  to  existing  security  holders, 
having  in  mind  the  priority  of  claims,  and  at  the  same 
time  make  a  very  material  reduction  in  the  total  of  se- 
curities outstanding.  Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  revo- 
lution the  company  only  demonstrated  its  ability  to  earn 
bond  interest  and  an  amount  sufficient  to  pay  a  small 
dividend  in  its  first  preferred  stock  —  and  this  was  with- 
out setting  up  any  surplus.  The  accumulation  of  a 
large  amount  of  unpaid  interest  has  only  made  the  situa- 
tion worse. 

The  rearrangement  of  National  Railway  finances  is, 
in  a  measure,  a  simpler  matter  than  that  of  national 
finances.  The  railways  company  is  a  private  concern, 
and  the  government,  as  a  stockholder,  could  have  no  rea- 
sonable objection  to  giving  to  those  engaged  in  financial 
reorganization  a  voice  in  administration.  The  amount 
of  money  needed  for  rehabilitation  is  not  large.  Be- 
cause of  the  troubles  Mexico  has  gone  through  financial 
houses  might  have  some  hesitation  in  advancing  money 
to  the  government,  fearing  waste  and  extravagance  in 
its  disbursement.  In  the  case  of  the  railways  this  diffi- 
culty could  be  obviated  by  having  credits  take  the  form 


246     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

of  rails,  locomotives  and  cars.  The  rehabilitation  of  the 
railways  on  a  footing  where  they  could  give  regular  and 
efficient  service  at  normal  rates  would  be  a  factor  of  the 
greatest  possible  importance  in  the  general  development 
of  industry  and  commerce. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
MEXICO  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR 

There  seems  to  be  a  general  impression  in  the  United 
States  that  Mexico,  in  tlie  world-war,  was  pro-German 
in  s^^mpathj.  This  is  partly  the  result  of  much  Ger- 
man propaganda  in  Mexico  —  a  campaign  pushed  with 
enough  energy  to  give  an  incorrect  impression  as  to  the 
degree  of  pro-German  feeling.  An  important  factor  in 
creating  this  impression  has  been  a  campaign,  conducted 
for  some  years,  by  a  number  of  American  newspapers, 
to  do  everything  possible  to  discredit  Mexico  and  bring 
about  armed  intervention  by  the  United  States.  This 
campaign  has  been  waged  so  persistently  that  the  Amer- 
ican view  of  Mexican  affairs  has  been  somewhat  dis- 
torted. Sensational  stories  are  sent  out  daily  by  corre- 
spondents along  the  border  regarding  Mexican  affairs, 
these  yarns  usually  starting  off  with  the  statement  that 
a  refugee  from  somewhere  in  Mexico  brings  the  news, 
and  so  forth.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  goodly  percentage 
of  these  tales  are  made  out  of  whole  cloth,  and  that 
three-fourths  of  the  balance  are  highly  colored  affairs. 
Many  reputable  newspapers  which  have  no  desire  to  aid 
in  an  anti-]\Xexican  campaign  are  taken  in  by  these  sto- 
ries, and  innocently  give  them  wide  publicity.  There 
has  been  a  vast  amount  of  disorder  in  Mexico,  and  in 
1915  and  early  in  1916  conditions  were  very  bad.  The 
sort  of  stories  printed  almost  daily  give  the  general  im- 
pression that  conditions  are  as  bad  as  ever,  and  that  the 
United  States  has  been  constantly  facing  a  menace  in 

247 


248     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

the  shape  of  Mexican-German  combination.  Much 
money  was  spent  in  German  propaganda  in  Mexico, 
particularly  in  stirring  up  hostility  toward  the  United 
iStates.  Several  papers  were  subsidized,  and  one  paper, 
the  Boleiin  de  Guerra,  printed  such  absurdly  wild  and 
silly  stuif  as  to  make  it  the  subject  of  ridicule.  It  was 
openly  charged  that  German  money  uas  a  steady  influ- 
ence with  several  members  of  the  Mexican  congress. 
All  of  this,  combined  with  what  seemed  to  be  the  waver- 
ing or  hostile  attitude  of  the  government,  resulted  in  a 
very  general  impression  that  Mexico  was  strongly  pro- 
German.  The  Zimmerman  note  to  Bernstorff,  propos- 
ing a  joint  Mexican- Japanese  attack  on  the  United 
States,  only  tended,  in  the  minds  of  many,  to  confirm 
this  belief,  although  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  note  caused 
greater  surprise  in  Mexico  than  anywhere  else. 

Mexico,  for  some  time,  was  in  a  generally  hostile 
frame  of  mind  toward  the  United  States.  The  occupa- 
tion of  Vera  Cruz  and  the  Pershing  expedition  aroused 
much  bitter  feeling.  There  has  always  been  consider- 
able jealousy,  always  intensified  by  the  fact  that  Cali- 
fornia, Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma,  Colorado  and 
Texas  were  once  Mexican  territory.  The  Carranza  gov- 
ernment was  bitter  over  the  eflorts  of  the  American 
business  interests  to  have  Huerta  recognized.  Mr. 
Brj^an  for  a  time  seemed  on  the  point  of  acting  as  backer 
for  Villa  and  this  stirred  up  ill  feeling.  The  hostility 
has  worn  off,  but  ]\Iexico,  in  her  new-found  liberty,  is 
very  suspicious.  Some  of  her  leaders  always  look  on 
the  United  States  as  a  possible  enemy,  and  this  is  the 
view  of  a  good  many  of  the  military.  The  French  occu- 
pation and  the  war  with  the  United  States  have  made 
them  suspicious,  and  the  greatly  exaggerated  idea  as  to 
profits  made  by  American  companies  has  created  a  desire 
for  isolation  —  a  desire  which  found  extreme  expression 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WOKLD  WAR      249 

when  Zapata  said  that  when  his  party  secured  full  con- 
trol of  Mexico  he  would  throw  out  foreigners,  tear  up 
the  railroads,  and  return  to  primitive  life.  Such  a 
statement  does  not,  of  course,  voice  Mexican  opinion, 
but  that  there  was  much  hostility  to  foreigners,  and 
Americans  in  particular,  is  beyond  question.  The  sus- 
picions bred  of  hostility  still  exist.  Mexico  felt  for  a 
time  that  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  was  hostile. 
There  were  many  misunderstandings,  with  blame  on 
both  sides.  Even  the  recognition  of  the  government  and 
President  Wilson's  steady  adherence  to  the  principle 
that  Mexico  must  be  allowed  to  work  out  her  own  salva- 
tion have  not  succeeded  in  wiping  out  some  of  the  suspi- 
cion existing.  The  general  attitude  toward  the  United 
States  is  to-day  far  more  friendly  than  at  any  time  dur- 
ing the  past  six  years,  and  doubtless  Mexico  will  some 
day  realize  that  the  United  States  is  her  best  and  strong- 
est friend.  The  government  felt,  however,  that  its 
position  in  the  war  should  be  one  of  strict  neutrality, 
and  it  adhered  to  this  policy.  To  the  disinterested  ob- 
server it  seemed  that  Mexico  had  every  reason  to  openly 
express  her  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  the  Allies.  She 
has  just  been  through  a  revolution  whose  chief  aim  was 
to  do  away  with  an  autocratic  form  of  government.  If 
she  fears  aggression,  her  greatest  protection  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  Allies  have  been  fighting  for  the  principle 
that  the  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy  —  that 
the  idea  that  might  makes  right  can  have  no  place  in  in- 
ternational relations.  The  majority  of  Latin-American 
republics  either  openly  declared  war  on  the  side  of  the 
Allies  or  expressed  their  sympathy  with  the  cause  for 
which  they  were  fighting.  A  declaration  of  sympathy 
would  have  greatly  strengthened  the  friendship  of  the 
United  States,  and  this  would  have  been  of  very  mate- 
rial aid  in  solving  difficult  financial  and  economic  prob- 


250     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

lems.  There  was  no  danger  of  having  Mexico  as  an 
enemy,  as  the  governmeut  fully  realizes  that  hostility 
to  the  United  States  would  be  suicidal.  Technically 
there  could  be  no  objection  to  neutrality.  The  advo- 
cates of  this  policy  in  Mexico  took  the  position  that, 
because  of  internal  problems,  Mexico  could  be  of  no 
material  aid  to  the  Allies ;  that,  by  entering  the  war  on 
their  side,  or  declaring  her  sympathy  for  their  cause, 
she  would  be  making  an  enemy,  while,  because  of  in- 
ability to  give  material  aid,  she  would  gain  no  friends ; 
that,  while  the  pro-German  sympathizers  were  in  the 
minority  in  Mexico,  the  government  did  not  wish  to 
antagonize  them,  as  it  needed  the  support  of  every  one 
in  working  out  its  problems;  briefly,  that  Mexico,  by 
departure  from  neutrality,  would  have  had  something 
to  lose  and  nothing  to  gain.  This  line  of  argument 
seemed  reasonable,  but  took  no  account  of  the  fact  that 
practically  all  of  the  foreign  capital  (probably  close 
to  two  billion  dollars)  invested  in  Mexico  is  American, 
British,  French  and  Belgian,  while  German  interest, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  of  government 
bonds  held  by  German  banks,  has  been  almost  exclusively 
confined  to  commercial  enterprise.  Mexico's  interna- 
tional problems  will,  therefore,  be  largely  with  countries 
in  the  Allied  group,  and  the  friendship  of  these  coun- 
tries would  be  of  very  great  help  in  the  arrangement  of 
many  pending  questions. 

German  money  was  spent  freely  in  Mexico  through- 
out the  war,  and  the  propaganda  was  not  without  influ- 
ence. Early  in  1916  it  was  a  matter  of  common  report 
in  Mexico  that  one  of  the  Diaz  generals,  resident  in 
Cuba,  had  been  offered  seven  million  marks  to  finance  a 
new  revolution  in  Mexico,  the  aim  being  to  bring  on 
American  intervention  and  thereby  divert  the  supply 
of  munitions  then  going  to  the  Allies.     Later,  well- 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR       251 

informed  Mexicans  expressed  their  conviction  that 
German  money  was  responsible  for  the  Columbus  raid. 
On  the  whole,  the  propaganda  accomplished  nothing 
except,  perhaps,  to  have  kept  Mexico  from  declaring  its 
sjTiipathy  for  the  Allies.  Even  though  Mexico  chose 
to  remain  neutral,  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that 
the  ablest  leaders  in  the  country  were  strongly  pro-Ally, 
and  that  the  Allied  cause  had  a  strong  advocate  in  Mex- 
ico's most  fearless  and  influential  newspaper.  El  Uni- 
versal. 

Much  of  the  credit  for  improvement  in  the  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  is  due  to  the 
untiring  efforts  of  Henry  P.  Fletcher,  the  American 
Ambassador  at  Mexico  City,  and  Senor  Ignacio  Bonillas, 
the  Mexican  Ambassador  at  Washington.  In  selecting 
Mr.  Fletcher  for  the  important  post  the  State  Depart- 
ment chose  a  man  of  previous  valuable  experience  in 
Latin-American  diplomacy  and  a  man  who,  through  his 
knowledge  of  the  people  and  their  language,  would  ac- 
quire a  thorough  understanding  of  conditions  before 
attempting  to  pass  judgment  on  the  various  questions 
constantly  being  brought  before  the  embassy.  Mr. 
Fletcher's  work  has  done  much  to  reestablish,  in  the 
minds  of  the  Mexican  authorities,  a  confidence  in  the 
general  disposition  of  the  American  Government. 
Seiior  Bonillas  is  a  man  of  high  ideals  and  broad  views, 
and  has  a  full  understanding  of  American  ideas  and 
institutions.  He  has  not  only  been  instrumental  in 
bringing  the  two  governments  into  closer  relations  but 
has  done  much  toward  giving  the  American  public  a 
better  understanding  of  the  situation  in  Mexico.  In  a 
capital  like  Mexico  City  the  American  Consul  General 
comes  in  intimate  contact  with  government  officials  and 
leaders  in  business  and  social  activities.  Mr.  George 
A.  Chamberlain,  appointed  to  this  position  in  1917,  is 


252     MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^B  TO-MOEROW 

an  efficient  and  broad-minded  official.  He  has,  more- 
over, through  birth  in  Brazil  and  through  a  dozen  years 
of  service  in  Latin  countries,  a  thorough  understanding 
of  the  Latin- American  viewpoint  —  an  invaluable  asset 
for  the  post. 

There  arose,  early  in  1918,  an  awkward  situation 
brought  about  by  war  conditions.  The  United  States, 
to  prevent  any  outflow^  of  gold  during  the  war,  placed  an 
embargo  on  gold  exports.  Mexico  has  a  trade  balance, 
in  her  favor,  amounting  to  some  two  million  dollars  a 
month,  and  she  wants  this  paid  in  gold  —  an  arrange- 
ment automatically  stopped  by  the  embargo.  As  a  basis 
for  solution  of  the  difficulty,  the  L^^nited  States  proposed 
that  balances  due  Mexico  should  be  deposited  in  New 
York,  and  that  paper  currency  should  be  issued  in  Mex- 
ico against  such  balances.  As  an  alteration,  it  was  sug- 
gested that  balances  should  be  settled  in  United  States 
treasury  notes.  jN^either  arrangement  was  satisfactory 
to  Mexico.  Theoretically  either  method  would  take  care 
of  the  matter,  but  practically  there  is  the  very  serious 
objection  that  the  Mexican  public  at  large  is  in  no  frame 
of  mind  to  accept  paper  currency,  regardless  of  how  well 
it  is  secured.  Public  confidence  in  the  government's 
financial  stability  is  not  yet  established,  and  any  issue 
of  paper  secured  by  gold  deposits  in  New  York  would 
be  looked  on  with  suspicion.  When  the  time  comes  to 
bring  out  a  paper  currency  the  deposit  of  funds  abroad 
would  be  an  element  of  strength  rather  than  of  weak- 
ness, but  it  seems  highly  doubtful  if  paper  secured  by 
such  deposits  would,  at  the  present  time,  be  well  received. 
The  general  attitude  of  the  public  on  the  paper  question 
was  indicated  when,  early  this  year,  the  government  an- 
nounced its  purpose  of  immediately  creating  a  bank  of 
issue.  Protests  poured  in  from  every  quarter,  and  the 
expressions  of  fear  of  another  economic  upheaval  were 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR      253 

so  great  that  the  government  decided  to  postpone,  for  an 
iudetinite  time,  the  opening  of  the  new  bank,  bome  of 
the  Mexican  government  oiiicials  feel  that  the  plan  of 
securing  issues  by  deposits  in  A'ew  York  would  not,  even 
under  normal  conditions,  be  calculated  to  inspire  confi- 
dence. The  Mexican  might  feel,  they  say,  that  he  was 
taking  money  over  the  security  for  which  the  govern- 
ment issuing  it  had  no  control.  Speaking  broadly,  this 
objection  cannot  have  very  much  weight.  As  pointed 
out  elsewhere,  the  placing  of  reserves  in  banks  in  New 
York  or  London  would,  with  the  great  majority  of  busi- 
ness people,  inspire  confidence  through  dispelling  any 
possible  fears  that  gold  reserves  securing  paper  of  the 
government  might  be  used  for  some  other  purposes. 
There  is,  of  course,  the  possibility  of  some  complication 
in  the  event  that  Mexico  should  become  involved  in  war 
with  the  country  where  her  gold  deposits  were  accumu- 
lated. If,  for  instance,  funds  securing  Mexican  bank 
issues  "were  deposited  in  New  York,  there  might  be  a 
currency  panic  if  Mexico  and  the  United  States  became 
involved  in  war,  even  if  such  funds  were  in  no  way 
affected.  Whatever  may  be  said  on  the  question  pro 
and  con,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that,  for  immediate  pur- 
poses, the  plan  is  open  to  objections. 

So  far  there  has  been  no  definite  settlement  of  this 
question.  When  the  embargo  on  gold  was  first  placed, 
Mexico  retaliated  by  placing  an  embargo  on  the  export 
of  silver.  This  was  a  serious  blow  to  the  silver  produc- 
ing mines,  largely  owned  by  American  interests,  and 
much  friction  resulted.  The  embargo  on  silver  was  sub- 
sequently modified.  Embargoes  placed  by  the  American 
government  on  export  of  foodstuffs  have  been  lifted  at 
various  times  to  permit  shipments  of  corn  to  Mexico, 
and,  in  general,  many  of  the  causes  for  friction  between 
the  two  countries  are  disappearing.     An  effort  to  greatly 


254     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

increase  the  export  tax  on  oil  brought  a  very  strong  pro- 
test from  the  United  States,  and  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment finally  moditied  its  taxation  scheme. 

A  cause  of  a  certain  amount  of  irritation  exists  in  the 
situation  in  the  oil  district  surrounding  Tampico.  In 
the  chaotic  days  of  1915  and  the  early  part  of  1916  a 
local  chief  named  Pelaez  became  dominant  in  the  region. 
He  enforced  contributions  from  the  various  oil  produc- 
ing companies,  giving  them,  in  return,  protection. 
Tampico  itself  has  been  under  Constitutionalist  control 
for  three  years,  but  the  oil  producing  territory,  begin- 
ning only  a  few  miles  from  Tampico,  has  been  under 
Pelaez'  control.  The  oil  companies,  partly  due  to  stress 
of  local  conditions  and  partly  due  to  lack  of  confidence 
in  the  government,  have  tacitly  supported  Pelaez  —  or 
have,  at  least,  made  his  continuance  possible  through 
regular  contributions.  The  government  is  determined 
sooner  or  later  to  end  such  a  situation,  as  it  naturally 
cannot  tolerate  the  practical  alienation  of  a  portion  of  its 
territory.  The  oil  companies  fear  that  any  move 
against  Pelaez  will  involve  a  risk  of  the  destruction  of 
the  oil  wells.  Doubtless  when  the  government  acts  it 
will  take  all  necessary  measures  to  protect  the  oil  fields. 
There  would  be  little  reason  for  referring  to  the  ques- 
tion but  for  the  persistent  efforts  of  a  certain  group  of 
newspapers  in  the  United  States  to  provoke  trouble. 
These  newspapers,  under  the  cloak  of  a  news  service, 
have  been  periodically  sending  out  a  story  that  the  Tam- 
pico oil  fields  were  threatened  with  destruction,  that 
the  fuel  supply  for  the  British  fleet  was  threatened,  and 
that  an  occupation  of  the  region  by  American  troops 
was  iimniiient. 

The  situation  in  Tampico  has  its  difficult  and  embar- 
rassing features,  but  can  hardly  be  called  serious  so  far 
as  relations  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States  are 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WORLD  WAR      255 

concerned.  A  mutual  understanding  of  the  difficulties 
facing  both  governments  will,  it  is  hoped,  bring  about  a 
proper  solution  of  pending  questions.  People  who  have 
studied  the  course  of  Mexican  affairs  during  the  past 
few  years  fully  realize  that  there  are  many  difficult 
problems  to  be  solved  and  that  much  patience  will  be 
required  on  the  part  of  all  concerned.  The  reconstruc- 
tion period  has  barely  begun,  and  no  one  act,  either  in- 
ternal or  external,  will  bring  it  to  a  speedy  conclusion. 
Neither  is  any  one  act  likely  to  destroy  what  has  already 
been  accomplished.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  jMexico 
needs  all  the  help  she  can  get.  She  is  somewhat  chary 
about  accepting  help,  and  seemingly  unduly  suspicious. 
There  is  a  tendency  on  both  sides  to  quibble  a  good  deal, 
and  this  is  intensified  by  the  injection  of  extraneous 
matters  into  discussions.  The  United  States  sincerely 
wants  to  help  Mexico,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  way 
will  be  found  to  make  its  purpose  so  clear  that  there  will 
be  no  question  as  to  the  cordiality  and  sincerity  of  its 
support.  At  the  moment  the  greatest  obstacle  in  estab- 
lishing close  relations  lies  in  the  suspicion  in  Mexico  as 
to  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  United  States. 

The  Mexican  official  mind  ran  along  this  channel: 
"  We  have  been  fighting  to  establish  a  democratic  gov- 
ernment, and  throughout  our  revolution  there  have  been 
insistent  demands  for  American  intervention  in  our  af- 
fairs. Some  men  of  prominence  in  the  United  States 
have  spoken  openly  for  a  protectorate  in  Mexico.  What 
looked  to  us  like  the  advance  guard  of  an  army  of  occu- 
pation spent  some  months  in  Mexico.  We  became  con- 
vinced of  the  sincerity  of  the  American  government  when 
it  withdrew  its  troops,  and  our  relations  greatly  im- 
proved. Then  came  fresh  complications.  We  are  sell- 
ing our  products,  some  at  high  prices,  as  we  wish  to  take 
advantage  of  high   prices   prevailing  the   world   over. 


256     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MORROW 

The  United  States  objects.  We  want  our  pay  in  money 
we  can  use,  and  again  the  United  States  objects.  We 
need  corn,  and  the  United  States,  which  has  plenty, 
will  not  let  us  have  any.  We  fail  to  understand,  and 
consequently  are  incredulous."  What  this  line  of  rea- 
soning ignores  is  that  the  Mexican  revolution,  of  vital 
interest  to  its  leaders  and  to  the  nation,  was  of  only  inci- 
dental interest  in  the  United  States,  where  there  was 
only  an  idea  that  there  was  a  general  row  on  in  Mexico, 
with  half  a  dozen  factions  fighting  for  supremacy.  It 
also  ignores  the  fact  that  even  in  American  government 
circles  which  endeavored  to  keep  informed  there  was 
only  a  hazy  idea  of  what  it  was  all  about,  and  that  in 
the  general  upheaval  it  was  frequently  hard  to  distin- 
guish the  real  revolution  from  the  mass  of  disorder 
accompanying  it.  Nor  is  sufficient  credit  given  Mr. 
Wilson  by  Mexicans  for  his  attitude,  maintained  from 
the  start,  that  ]\Iexico  should  be  given  every  chance  to 
work  out  her  own  salvation.  Mexican  government  of- 
ficials fail  to  realize  that  as  a  result  of  the  disturbed 
conditions  many  American  citizens  lost  their  lives,  that 
there  was  much  loss  in  property,  and  that,  while  the  Con- 
stitutionalist government  was  not  at  fault,  the  American 
government  had  a  grave  responsibility  in  the  matter. 
Looking  at  the  whole  question  impartially,  there  is  no 
question  but  that  the  United  States  had  much  provoca- 
tion, and  that  the  American  government  at  times  exer- 
cised great  restraint  in  dealing  with  the  situation.  As 
to  questions  now  pending,  Mexicans  fail  to  understand 
that  in  the  United  States  to-day  war  considerations  have 
crowded  everything  else  out  of  the  public  mind,  and  that 
the  attitude  taken  by  the  government  on  various  ques- 
tions was  the  result  of  a  general  desire  to  throw  every 
ounce  of  weight  into  a  "  win-the-war  "  program.  Ger- 
man propaganda  in  Mexico  created  something  of  the 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WOELD  WAR      257 

impression  that  the  war  was  a  fight  between  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  for  commercial  supremacy,  and 
that  America  was  dragged  in  casually,  largely  because  of 
financial  considerations.  Even  well-informed  Mexican 
government  officials  fail  to  grasp  the  fact  that  the  United 
States  was  in  the  war  because  of  the  very  existence  of 
democratic  institutions  threatened,  and  they  did  not, 
therefore,  understand  why  the  war  was  so  vital  and  so 
all-absorbing.  To  them  the  war  seemed  of  incidental  in- 
terest only,  and  they  failed  to  see  why  the  United  States 
placed  every  other  interest  in  the  background.  What 
appears  as  essential  to  reach  a  solution  of  pending  mat- 
ters, does  not  involve  modification  of  principles  but 
rather  a  better  understanding  on  each  side  of  the  oppo- 
site viewpoint. 

A  combination  of  various  factors  aided  Germany 
in  her  propaganda  in  Mexico.  The  Mexican  govern- 
ment was  bitter  against  Great  Britain  for  its  recogni- 
tion of  Iluerta  and  its  reported  efforts  to  have  Huerta 
sustained  by  the  United  States.  The  government  was 
suspicious  of  the  motives  of  the  United  States  in  the 
Pershing  Expedition.  France,  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  complain 
about  losses  to  properties  owned  in  Mexico,  while  Ger- 
many, having  little  invested  in  railways,  mines  or  public 
utility  properties,  has  had  little  cause  for  complaint. 
Germany's  trade  was  shut  off  by  the  war,  and  practically 
she  had  no  commercial  relations  with  Mexico.  While, 
during  the  past  four  years,  nearly  every  one  of  the  Allied 
governments  has  had  to  discuss  with  Mexico  a  hundred 
and  one  questions  which  could  cause  friction,  Germany 
alone,  through  lack  of  any  business,  was  in  a  position 
where  she  could  pose  as  a  friend  who  was  making  no 
complaint.  Some  Mexican  government  officials  doubt- 
less felt  that  if,  in  the  future,  their  country  should  be 


258     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A^D  TO-MORKOW 

involved  in  trouble  with  the  United  States,  they  would 
be  more  likely  to  receive  financial  and  other  support 
from  Germany  than  from  any  other  source.  Moreover, 
the  German  military  successes  during  the  first  three 
years  created  a  belief  that  Germany  was  going  to  win 
the  war.  The  entrance  of  the  United  States  in  the  war 
gTeatly  modified  this  view.  The  visit  of  the  Mexican 
editors  to  the  United  States  in  June  of  this  year  gave 
leaders  in  Mexico  an  idea  of  the  potential  strength  of 
the  country,  and  also  did  much  to  convince  them  that 
the  United  States  was  fighting,  disinterestedly,  for  demo- 
cratic principles.  President  Wilson's  address  in  wel- 
coming the  editors  cleared  the  atmosphere,  especially 
with  regard  to  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  toward 
Mexico. 

The  general  attitude  of  the  United  States  in  its  for- 
eign relations  is  frequently  misrepresented  and  often 
misunderstood  in  Latin- American  countries.  The  Mon- 
roe Doctrine  is  the  greatest  possible  protection  for  the 
Latin- American  states  from  foreign  aggression,  but  it  is 
frequently  looked  on  as  a  scheme  designed  to  give  the 
United  States  political  and  commercial  dominance  in  the 
Western  hemisphere.  A  good  deal  of  this  feeling  has 
been  due  to  the  patronizing  air  sometimes  carried  by 
Americans  in  their  dealings,  political  and  commercial, 
with  the  people  of  Latin- American  countries.  The  past 
isolation  of  the  United  States  from  world  affairs,  the 
tremendous  development  of  industry,  and  the  rapid  ac- 
cumulation of  vast  wealth,  have  all  contributed  to  a 
feeling  of  self-satisfaction  in  the  American  viewpoint. 
This,  in  turn,  has  developed  the  idea  that  our  scheme 
of  things  should  be  the  model  for  all  sister  republics, 
and  at  times  expression  along  these  lines  has  been  pain- 
fully aggressive.  Naturally,  a  certain  amount  of  re- 
sentment has  resulted.     The  American  viewpoint  has 


MEXICO  AND  THE  WOKLD  WAR      259 

broadened  since  the  Spanish  war,  as  the  responsibilities 
of  colonial  possessions  have  made  the  country  realize  the 
existence  of  many  problems  with  which  we  have,  previ- 
ously, never  had  to  deal.  The  participation  of  the 
United  States  into  the  world  war  will  further  broaden 
the  national  viewpoint.  Whatever  may  be  said  as  to 
narro\\Tiess  of  vision,  there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the 
general  unselfishness  of  purpose  of  the  United  States  in 
its  foreign  relations.  Xo  government,  in  dealing  with 
other  nations,  was  ever  freer  from  commercial  influ- 
ences. This  has  been  particularly  true  in  the  case  of 
Mexico  —  so  much  so  that  business  interests  have  for 
some  years  been  hostile  to  the  administration.  If  com- 
mon precedent  had  been  followed,  the  United  States 
would  have  held  Cuba  as  a  normal  war  prize,  but 
instead  she  has  aided  Cuba  in  establishing  her  own 
government  and  in  developing  her  own  resources.  As 
a  national  matter,  the  Philippines,  in  money,  life 
and  eft'ort,  have  represented,  and  will,  for  some  years, 
represent  a  far  greater  expenditure  than  any  direct  re- 
turn. Meanwhile  these  islands  are  being  developed  in 
material  progress,  in  education  and  in  political  thought, 
with  the  steadfast  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  govern 
their  own  affairs.  Porto  Rico  has  been  given  a  large 
measure  of  political  independence,  and  will,  doubtless 
within  a  comparatively  short  period,  be  admitted  to  the 
sisterhood  of  states.  The  vast  improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  mass  of  people  in  the  Philippines  and  in 
Porto  Rico,  the  systematic  development  of  education, 
the  absence  of  any  spirit  of  exploitation,  and  the  high 
sense  of  justice  displayed  in  administration,  all  indicate 
far  higher  ideals  than  are,  at  times,  credited  to  our 
"  dollar  democracy."  The  United  States,  occupied  with 
its  own  tremendous  development,  has  for  some  years 
been  apathetic  about  Mexico,  but  the  best  thought  of  the 


260     MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^D  TO-MOEROW 

nation  is  sympathetic,  and  there  is  a  genuine  desire  to 
aid  the  country.  Owing  to  the  disturbed  conditions  pre- 
vailing during  the  past  seven  years  there  has  been  consid- 
erable confusion  in  the  public  mind  in  the  United  States, 
but  as  conditions  become  better  understood  the  wish  to 
be  of  assistance  will  take  practical  form.  With  the  end 
of  the  war,  many  of  the  causes  for  friction  will  disap- 
pear, and  the  way  paved  for  more  intimate  and  cordial 
relations. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
MEXICO  AND  FOKEIGN  CAPITAL 

The  history  of  all  nations  has  demonstrated  that  where 
social  and  political  conditions  were  such  as  to  call  for 
reform,  the  longer  reform  was  postponed  the  greater  was 
the  reaction.  Mexico  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Had 
the  Diaz  government  adopted  a  broad  policy  of  reform 
fifteen  or  even  ten  years  ago  there  would  have  been  no 
revolution.  The  contention  that  Mexico  was  not  ready 
for  a  democratic  form  of  government  is,  in  the  main, 
true,  and  however  much  the  new  government  may  wish 
to  be  democratic,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  cannot,  at  the  moment,  take  an  intel- 
ligent part  in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  The  adher- 
ents of  the  Diaz  scheme  of  governing  make  the  error, 
however,  of  argiiiug  that,  because  an  ideal  democracy 
was  impossible,  the  only  solution  lay  in  a  military  dicta- 
torship. Aside  from  the  abuses  which  creep  in  with  an 
autocratic  scheme  of  administration,  the  mere  fact  that 
the  Diaz  government  gave  no  part  of  the  people  any 
voice  in  the  nation's  affairs  was,  in  itself,  sooner  or  later 
bound  to  bring  on  a  political  upheaval.  The  Diaz  sys- 
tem not  only  permitted  no  participation  in  government, 
but  it  took  no  steps  to  prepare  the  public  for  any  future 
participation.  This  policy,  pursued  over  a  long  period, 
resulted  not  only  in  the  overthrow  of  the  autocratic 
scheme  but  brought  into  power  a  government  with  tend- 
encies to  go  to  opposite  extremes.  The  Diaz  policy 
brought  into  the  country  a  vast  amount  of  foreign  capi- 

261 


262     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

tal,  which  was  given  every  aid  and,  which,  in  some  cases, 
was  aided  too  much.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  create 
in  the  popular  mind  the  impression  that  capital  is  extor- 
tionate, and  the  much  exaggerated  idea  of  the  benefits 
accruing  to  foreign  capital  resulted  in  such  a  demand 
for  the  protection  of  the  people  from  exploitation  that 
there  was,  and  is,  the  danger  of  frightening  capital  away. 
Capital  will  stand  active  shocks,  but  not  uncertainty,  and 
the  mere  intangible  impression  that  it  is  likely  to  receive 
unfair  treatment  would  be  sufficient  to  cause  it  to  hastily 
withdraw  from  the  field. 

The  position  of  the  government  as  to  foreigners  and 
foreign  capital,  as  stated  by  one  of  its  .prominent  lead- 
ers, is,  briefly:  Mexico  needs  foreigners  in  large  num- 
bers, not  as  promoters  but  as  people  who  will  take  up 
farms,  ranches,  plantations,  and  industrial  pursuits,  and 
help  develop  the  agricultural  and  other  resources  of  the 
country;  that  she  must  and  will  encourage  immigration 
of  the  sort  which  will  help  to  accomplish  this;  that  she 
needs  and  will  welcome  foreign  capital  for  large  public 
works,  for  extensions  of  the  railway  system,  for  banking 
and  for  industrial  purposes ;  that  foreigners  and  foreign 
capital  will  be  given  cordial  treatment,  but  that  both 
must  come  with  a  national  spirit  and  not  for  purposes 
of  squeezing  all  they  can  out  of  the  country  and  leaving 
as  little  as  possible  behind  —  or,  in  other  words,  that 
Mexico  wants  people  who  will  work  for  the  country  as 
well  as  themselves,  and  capital  which  will  re-invest  some 
of  its  profits  in  further  local  development ;  that  the  talk 
of  Mexico  for  Mexicans  only  is  absurd,  but  that  the  gov- 
ernment must  first  look  to  the  welfare  of  its  own  people ; 
and,  finally,  that  the  supposed  hostility  to  foreigners  or 
foreign  money  is  idle  talk,  and  based  solely  on  the  fact 
that  foreigners  and  foreign  capital  in  Mexico  have,  in 


MEXICO  AND  FOREIGJST  CAPITAL     263 

the  past,  been  selfish,  with  the  result  of  creating  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  anti-foreign  feeling. 

This  sounds  reasonable,  but  implies  an  undue  amovmt 
of  selhsliness  on  the  part  of  foreigTiers.  It  is  true  that 
profits  from  Mexican  investments  made  by  foreigners 
have  gone  abroad,  but  it  is  worth  while  to  note  that,  by 
and  large,  foreigners  and  foreig-n  concerns  have  paid  bet- 
ter wages  and  given  better  treatment  to  employees  than 
have  Mexican  employers.  General  Obregon,  who  is  a 
passionate  nationalist,  once  said  bitterly  that  if  Mexican 
employers  had  been  as  considerate  as  foreigners  in  their 
treatment  of  labor  there  would  have  been  no  revolution. 
Foreigners  usually  paid  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  more  in 
wages  than  Mexican  employers,  and  exploitation  of  labor 
through  store  accounts,  etc.,  was  almost  unknown.  For- 
eign capital  took  the  labor  situation  as  it  found  it,  and, 
by  way  of  good  measure,  added  something  to  current 
wages.  It  could  not  be  expected  to  take  the  initiative 
in  social  reforms.  The  real  difficulty  was  a  political 
one,  with  bad  social  conditions,  and  while  reformers,  on 
analysis  of  the  facts,  would  recognize  this,  they  find  it 
somewhat  easier  and  more  popular  to  lay  much  of  the 
blame  on  the  foreigners.  The  popular  feeling,  or,  to  be 
more  correct,  the  feeling  of  the  middle  class,  is  not, 
basically,  so  much  anti-foreign  as  it  is  anti-capitalistic. 
As  the  largest  units  of  capital  are  foreign,  it  is  rather 
natural  that  the  foreign  element  should  be  given  more 
than  their  share  of  the  blame  for  conditions,  and  the 
minimum  of  credit  for  what  they  have  accomplished. 
Foreign  concerns  established  in  Mexico  —  railways, 
tramways,  power  plants  and  mines  —  have  done  a  great 
deal  in  the  way  of  developing  skilled  labor.  They  have 
done  this,  to  be  sure,  because  they  needed  skilled  labor, 
and  they  have  been  well  repaid  in  service.     Nevertheless, 


264     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AXD  TO-MORROW 

they  should  be  given  the  credit  of  having  done  much 
toward  developing  a  middle  class. 

Mexico  has  already  gone  so  far  in  world-progress  that 
she  could  not  isolate  herself  even  if  she  wished  to  do 
so.  She  has  vast  natural  resources  which  she  wishes 
to  develop.  She  needs  capital  for  a  program  of  na- 
tional industrial  expansion,  and,  as  she  has  relatively 
no  capital  at  home,  she  must  look  to  other  countries  for 
it.  To  get  it,  she  must  give  every  reasonable  assurance 
of  just  treatment,  and  the  best  assurance  any  new  cap- 
ital could  have  would  be  to  see  existing  investments 
treated  fairly.  There  is,  in  Mexico,  a  good  deal  of  a 
disposition  to  find  fault  with  foreigners  for  things  which 
are  the  result  of  natural  causes.  For  instance,  there  is 
frequently  a  lament  that  such  a  small  percentage  of  the 
mining  industry  is  in  Mexican  hands.  Mining,  in  the 
past  two  decades,  has  become  an  exact  science  instead 
of  a  huge  gamble,  and  more  money  is  made  yearly  to-day 
out  of  large  bodies  of  low  grade  ores  than  was  formerly 
made  every  decade  out  of  rich  strikes  and  bonanzas. 
The  consequence  is  that  mining  operations  to-day,  to 
be  successful,  are  usually  large  operations,  requiring 
heavy  investment  in  properties,  mining  and  milling  ma- 
chinery and  refineries.  There  was  not,  in  Mexico,  the 
capital  available  for  this  sort  of  development,  and  it 
was  only  natural  that  foreign  groups  put  their  money 
into  this  class  of  enterprises.  Two  years  ago  the  de- 
partment of  mines  in  Mexico  seemed  to  have  the  idea 
that,  by  some  means  or  other,  the  large  foreign  holdings 
should  be  cut  down,  and  something  of  an  effort  was  made 
to  devise  legislation  which  would  limit  the  holdings  of 
any  one  company.  This  theory,  if  carried  out  —  for- 
tunately its  fallacy  was  seen  —  would  have  automat- 
ically curtailed  production.  The  large  properties  only 
make  money  when  running  at  full  capacity  with  very 


MEXICO  AND  FOREIGIvr  CAPITAL     265 

heavy  tonnage.  Three  large  companies  in  the  Pachuca 
camp  mine  and  mill  a  million  tons  of  rock  each  year. 
If  their  aggregate  holdings  were  split  up  into  a  hun- 
dred parcels  no  one  could  make  any  money,  and  produc- 
tion would  be  practically  nil.  Similarly-,  the  hydro- 
electric development  at  Necaxa  represents  an  investment 
of  fifty  million  dollars,  and  without  foreign  capital  the 
stimulus  it  has  given  to  industry  would  not  have  been 
possible. 

Mexico  would,  doubtless,  prefer  a  general  program 
of  development  of  her  resources  without  foreign  finan- 
cial assistance,  but  she  has  not  the  funds  at  her  disposal. 
Even  if  some  of  the  great  works  were  undertaken  by  the 
government,  the  necessary  money  would  have  to  come 
from  abroad.  If,  then,  she  wants  financial  aid,  she 
must  be  prepared  to  give  investments  good  protection, 
fair  treatment,  and  an  opportunity  to  make  a  reason- 
able profit.  This  is  all  the  more  so  when  the  matter  of 
finding  money  is  looked  at  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
extraordinary  demands  created  by  the  world-war.  Cap- 
ital, the  world  over,  is  in  greater  demand  than  ever  be- 
fore ;  demands  after  the  war  will  be  great ;  —  in  short, 
for  some  time  capital  will  not  have  to  seek  far  to  find 
good  emploj^nent.  Whether  for  government  or  private 
purposes,  capital  will  not  go  to  Mexico  in  competition 
with  other  countries  except  for  good  security  and  good 
yield. 

On  the  other  hand,  capital,  whether  in  the  shape  of 
existing  investment  or  future  enterprise,  should  fully 
recognize  its  obligations  to  the  country  in  which  it  is 
employed.  Foreign  investment  represents  a  very  large 
item  in  the  total  earning  power  of  the  coimtry,  and 
should  be  prepared  to  bear  its  full  share  of  the  burden 
of  reconstruction.  If  all  large  interests  and  all  large 
property  owners  endeavor  to  dodge  their  share  of  the 


266     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

financial  burden  it  will  take  three  or  four  times  as  long 
to  get  on  a  stable  basis.  Some  foreign  concerns  doing 
business  in  Mexico  accept,  without  complaint,  an  in- 
crease of  500  per  cent,  in  taxes  at  home  because  thev 
realize  that  their  governments  need  the  money,  but  thev 
object  to  a  50  per  cent,  increase  of  taxes  in  Mexico  be- 
cause it  is  for  a  foreign  government.  They  do  not  real- 
ize that  Mexico  has  been  and  is  suffering  from  the  ef- 
fects of  nearly  seven  years  of  warfare.  Aside  from 
the  purely  financial  phase  of  the  situation,  they  can  be 
of  very  great  help  by  an  endeavor  to  help  the  govern- 
ment to  solve  its  various  problems.  Instead  of  open  hos- 
tility or  a  sort  of  passive  resistance  they  could  accom- 
plish a  good  deal  by  trying  to  meet  the  government 
views.  Some  concerns,  both  native  and  foreign,  have 
been  perniciously  active  in  their  hostility,  or  stubborn 
in  their  resistance,  and  this  has  at  times  interfered  with 
normal  progress  and  even  worked  to  their  own  detri- 
ment. Foreign  as  well  as  domestic  concerns  had  a  hard 
time  of  it ;  railroad  service  was  irregular ;  labor  was 
turbulent;  bandits  roamed  through  the  country;  the 
currency  upset  the  whole  scheme ;  there  were  deficits  in- 
stead of  profits ;  and  altogether  conditions  discouraging 
for  any  one  trying  to  do  business.  They  had,  therefore, 
much  reason  for  complaint.  Fortunately,  conditions 
have  greatly  improved.  Most  of  the  reasons  for  com- 
plaint have  disappeared,  so  that  they  no  longer  have 
the  same  justification  for  maintaining  a  generally  an- 
tagonistic attitude. 

The  labor  question  in  Mexico  is  the  most  serious 
problem  to-day.  It  is  a  real  menace,  and,  unless  prop- 
erly handled,  will  stop  further  industrial  progress.  La- 
bor, feeling  that  the  revolution  was  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  the  working  man,  makes  all  sorts  of  demands 
and  exactions,  and  is,   in  general,  inclined  to  be  ex- 


MEXICO  AND  rOEEIGK  CAPITAL     267 

tremely  tyrannical.  According  to  the  labor  doctrine  as 
'expounded  by  labor  leaders  and  agitators,  capital  rights 
can  be  put  off  for  indefinite  future  consideration. 
There  are  as  many  committees  as  have,  by  common  re- 
port, sprung  into  existence  in  Kussia.  Local  authori- 
ties, elected  to  office  by  a  labor  vote,  frequently  do  not 
attempt  to  weigh  evidence,  and  are  apt,  in  general,  to 
urge  compliance  with  demands.  The  great  copper 
properties  at  Cananea  closed  down  rather  than  meet 
exactions  of  committees.  In  greater  or  less  degree, 
there  have  been  troubles  all  over  the  country.  Contin- 
uance of  labor  rule  of  a  blind  sort  will  either  close  down 
industry  or  will  result  in  an  unhealthy  inflation  which 
will,  in  the  end,  be  disastrous  for  every  one.  The 
government,  looking  to  the  mass  of  people  for  support, 
is  in  a  delicate  position.  Manifestly,  however,  it  must 
sooner  or  later  realize  that  unreasonable  labor  exactions 
would  be  destructive  to  all  real  progress.  The  situa- 
tion has  been  complicated  and  clouded  by  high  prices 
prevailing  on  certain  foodstuffs  —  a  condition  which 
normal  crops  will  relieve  —  and  this  doubtless,  has  made 
it  more  difficult  for  the  government  to  take  a  decided 
position  on  the  question. 

The  experience  of  the  great  copper  properties  at 
Cananea  affords  an  interesting  and  very  curious  exam- 
ple of  the  sort  of  difficulties  brought  about  by  the  de- 
mands of  labor.  The  mining  company  made  various 
increases  in  pay  and  concessions  of  one  sort  or  another, 
when  it  was  met  by  a  demand  for  further  increase  and 
for  participation  in  profits.  The  employees  discussed 
the  question  of  whether  the  company's  profits  should 
be  fixed  at  six,  eight  or  ten  per  cent.,  the  idea  being  to 
give  employees  all  excess  above  the  figure  to  be  deter- 
mined upon.  The  company  finally  decided  to  close 
down  rather  than  attempt  any  operation  under  condi- 


268     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEKOW 

tions  which  were  likely  to  change  from  day  to  day.  All 
operations  therefore  ceased,  and  the  mines  —  the  larg- 
est copper  producers  in  the  country  —  were  closed  down 
for  three  months.  An  agreement  was  finally  made  to 
give  the  employees  four  per  cent,  of  the  net  profits,  and, 
under  this  arrangement  operations  were  resumed.  The 
mines  have  been  running  without  interruption  for  some 
eight  months,  and  presumably  every  one  is  satisfied. 
The  settlement  finally  made  was  in  striking  contrast  to 
some  of  the  extravagant  demands  made  at  different 
times,  and  the  incident  illustrates  the  uncertainty  cre- 
ated by  the  new  conditions.  The  same  sort  of  diffi- 
culties have  been  experienced  at  many  places.  Em- 
ployees have,  in  the  end,  usually  agreed  to  terms  which 
were  fair  and  reasonable,  but  often  the  original  demands 
made  have  been  of  a  prohibitive  character  and  calcu- 
lated to  discourage  the  employer  class. 

To  put  foreign  investments  on  a  sound  basis  the  re- 
quirements, briefly,  are:  The  control  of  labor  to  pre- 
vent unreasonable  exactions  in  wages  or  conditions  of 
work ;  the  full  reestablishment  of  railway  service ;  a 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  government  which  will  enable 
them  to  earn  a  reasonable  return  on  capital  invested ; 
and  restoration  of  order  in  the  rural  districts  —  this  last 
being  a  problem  which  has  already  been  met  in  some 
sections  but  which  has  not  even  been  touched  in  others. 
The  reorganization  of  the  banking  system  is,  of  course, 
highly  important  for  facilitating  full  commercial  and 
industrial  growth,  but  is  not  of  as  immediate  impor- 
tance as  the  other  questions.  There  are,  in  the  coun- 
try, some  $180,000,000  (pesos)  in  gold  and  silver  coins, 
and  while  the  use  of  metal  currency  exclusively  is  cum- 
bersome, the  provision  of  bank  issues  is  not  one  of  great 
urgency.     The  supply  of  currency  would  be  insufficient 


MEXICO  AND  FOREIGK  CAPITAL     269 

under  an  expanded  volume  of  business,  but  takes  care  of 
needs  for  the  time  being. 

Two  factors  which  will,  if  fully  appreciated,  exert  an 
influence  in  relations  between  the  -Mexican  government 
and  foreign  capital  may  be  mentioned.  The  first  of 
these  is  the  somewhat  intangible  proposition  that  there 
has  been,  during  the  past  fifteen  years,  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  moral  tone  of  large  business  transactions. 
This  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  force  of  public  opinion,  and, 
in  part,  to  the  tremendous  development  of  corporate 
business.  Twenty  years  ago,  even  fifteen  years  ago, 
corporations  were,  relatively,  small  in  size,  and  many 
of  them  were  concerns  formed  for  the  sake  of  promo- 
tion profits.  With  rapid  gTowth  in  size  and  number 
their  operations  attracted  more  attention  than  before, 
and  this  developed,  in  their  managers  and  directors,  a 
greater  sense  of  responsibility,  not  only  to  their  share- 
holders but  to  the  public  at  large.  This  is,  in  the  Mex- 
ican investment  question,  a  matter  of  some  importance, 
as  it  lessens  the  chance  of  free-booting  and  piratical 
promotions.  It  is,  to-day,  an  actual  influence.  Con- 
cerns having  large  investments  in  Mexico  are  inclined, 
as  they  were  not  a  decade  ago,  to  realize  their  moral 
obligation  to  national  interest. 

The  other  factor  is  that  throughout  the  revolution 
the  heaviest  losers  have  been  the  Mexicans  themselves. 
In  destruction  of  property,  in  upset  of  business,  in  loss 
of  income  or  production,  the  aggregate  of  material  in- 
jury done  to  Mexican  interests  is  greater  than  that  suf- 
fered by  foreign  interests,  and,  if  the  matter  be  looked 
at  with  reference  to  the  number  of  people  affected,  the 
Mexican  loss  is  on  a  far  greater  scale.  In  loss  of  life, 
the  Mexican  civil  population  has  suffered  more,  by 
many  times,  than  the   foreign  population.     In  these 


270     MEXICO  TO-DAY  Al^B  TO-MORROW 

two  items  no  account  is  taken  of  the  starvation  of  thou- 
sands of  the  poorer  classes,  nor  the  death  of  thousands 
from  epidemics  which,  in  sweeping  over  the  country, 
found  easy  victims  in  the  badly  nourished  people.  The 
entire  population  of  Mexico  has  suffered  heavily  —  has 
gone  through  revolutions,  counter-revolutions,  riots, 
famine,  looting,  and  epidemics.  Foreigners  having  in- 
vestments in  Mexico  but  not  living  there  have  been  apt 
to  look  at  the  revolution  in  an  abstract  way,  and  to 
consider  it  only  with  reference  to  its  effect  on  their  busi- 
ness, scarcely  realizing  that  there  has  been  an  upheaval 
which  has  affected  all  the  business  and  all  the  people 
of  the  country.  Full  realization  of  the  extent  of  the 
upheaval  will  incline  people  to  a  greater  degree  of  tol- 
eration in  considering  the  position  of  the  government. 
There  are,  to  be  sure,  many  who  hold  the  opinion  that 
the  state  of  disorder,  approaching  anarchy,  which  pre- 
vailed for  a  long  period  is  evidence  that  the  country 
is  not  ready  for  self-government,  and  that  either  a  dic- 
tatorship or  foreign  intervention  will  be  required  to 
fully  reestablish  and  maintain  order.  It  is  certain  that 
any  attempt  to  return  to  a  military  dictatorship  would 
only  result  in  plunging  the  country  into  further  dis- 
order. The  question  then  arises  as  to  whether  or  not 
foreign  intervention  is  necessary.  Disregarding  for  the 
moment,  all  question  of  foreign  investment  in  Mexico, 
and  considering  the  subject  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
needs  of  the  Mexican  people  themselves,  would  foreign 
intervention  furnish  the  most  satisfactory  solution  of 
the  problem?  Any  foreign  intervention  would  be  bit- 
terly opposed  by  a  great  majority  of  the  people,  and  its 
cost  to  the  country  in  money  and  bloodshed  would  be 
heavy.  The  whole  matter  then  resolves  itself  into  this : 
Is  the  present  government  equal  to  the  task  of  govern- 
ing the  country?     This,  again,  raises  more  questions. 


MEXICO  AND  FOREIGN"  CAPITAL     271 

Has  the  present  government  the  moral  and  physical 
force  necessary  to  control  the  country  and  to  protect 
life  and  property  ?  Has  it  a  policy  which,  if  carried 
out,  will  bring  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  nation  ?  Are 
the  elements  of  weakness  so  great  as  to  imperil  ultimate 
success  ?  These  points  may  be  discussed  in  consecu- 
tive order.  The  present  government  has  certain  ideals 
of  reform,  and  these  ideals  have  given  it  a  moral  force 
of  some  strength.  With  these,  and  by  physical  force, 
it  has  established  its  power  throughout  the  country,  and 
has,  at  the  very  least,  succeeded  in  bringing  a  reason- 
able degree  of  order  out  of  chaos  and  anarchy.  The 
large  centers  are  all  under  control,  and  government  au- 
thority prevails  along  railway  routes.  There  is  much 
still  to  be  done,  and  time  will  be  required  to  finish  the 
work.  In  a  country  of  the  great  size  of  Mexico,  with 
topographical  conditions  which  make  brigandage  and 
guerilla  warfare  difiicult  to  suppress,  it  is  no  easy  mat- 
ter to  restore  peaceful  conditions.  Briefly  then,  the 
framework  of  government  control  has  been  erected,  and 
the  progress  of  completion  will  be  a  matter  of  time. 
As  to  the  government  policy,  the  general  program,  with 
the  exception  of  danger  from  the  tyranny  of  labor  un- 
ions, is,  on  the  w^hole,  capable  of  bringing  peace  and 
prosperity  to  the  people.  Time  alone  will  tell  whether 
the  program  will  be  applied  in  a  sane  and  wise  spirit. 
As  to  elements  of  weakness,  the  main  danger  is  from 
certain  pernicious  elements  in  the  military,  but  the  gov- 
ernment appears  to  be  making  headway  in  curbing  these 
turbulent  and  selfish  spirits.  An  element  of  weakness 
exists  in  the  lack  of  proper  material  for  civil  adminis- 
tration, due,  in  part,  to  the  fact  that  a  large  part  of  the 
ablest  men  in  the  country  were  formerly  identified,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  with  the  old  regime,  and  the  gov- 
ernment has  been  naturally  indisposed  to  utilize  their 


272     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOKROW 

services.  As  the  government  becomes  solidified,  and 
once  it  has  demonstrated  wisdom  in  the  solution  of  po- 
litical and  economic  questions,  it  will  receive  the  sup- 
port of  all  classes,  and  through  this,  will  be  able  to  use 
timber  which,  at  the  moment,  is  not  available.  The 
outlook,  on  the  whole,  is  far  from  discouraging  and 
gives,  in  fact,  much  hope  for  success. 

Foreign  investors  generally  feel  that  foreign  inter- 
ests in  Mexico  deserve  special  and  separate  considera- 
tion. Foreign  governments  will  naturally  be  energetic 
in  protecting  the  lives  and  properties  of  their  citizens, 
and  the  Mexican  government  doubtless  fully  realizes 
the  importance,  even  if  only  from  its  own  selfish  mo- 
tives, of  providing  security  for  life  of  foreigners  and 
for  fair  play  in  dealing  with  foreign  property.  It  may 
be  assumed,  however,  that,  generally  speaking,  an  ad- 
ministration which  will  be  satisfactory  for  the  Mexican 
people  themselves  will  be  satisfactory  for  foreigners. 
If  the  government  is  unreasonable  or  unfair  in  its  gen- 
eral attitude  to  capital,  the  result  will  be  as  disastrous 
for  Mexicans  as  for  foreigners.  If  legislation  is  un- 
sound, or  the  administration  of  justice  defective,  the 
Mexicans  themselves  will  be  the  worst  sufferers.  Un- 
due alarm  has  been  felt  by  foreign  interests  in  the  tend- 
ency to  "  nationalize  "  foreign  companies.  The  general 
principle  of  placing  foreign  corporations  or  foreign 
properties  within  the  control  of  Mexican  administra- 
tion is  not,  in  itself,  either  vicious  or  unnatural.  The 
real  question  of  importance  is  whether  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment, by  its  acts  and  in  its  administration  of  jus- 
tice, will  pursue  a  policy  under  which  there  will  be  ma- 
terial and  industrial  progress,  regardless  of  w'hether 
the  capital  necessary  for  such  development  be  of  native 
or  foreign  origin. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
AGKAKIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS 

The  ultimate  success  of  a  democratic  form  of  govern- 
ment will  depend  largely  on  the  creation  of  a  large  class 
of  small  landholders,  and  the  government  has  given  a 
great  deal  of  attention  to  the  question.  It  is  fully 
realized  that  a  promiscuous  distribution  of  land,  such 
as  was  attempted  by  Madero  in  certain  sections,  will 
accomplish  nothing.  The  peons  have  little  initiative, 
and,  while  they  will  work  well  under  supervision,  they 
would  be  likely  to  fail  as  independent  farmers.  Many 
of  them,  given  a  piece  of  land,  would  not  know  what 
to  do  with  it.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  work  for 
wages  by  the  day,  receiving  their  pay  daily  or  weekly. 
As  independent  farmers  they  would  starve  while  wait- 
ing for  their  first  crop. 

In  certain  sections  there  are  numerous  small  land- 
holdings,  and  in  such  districts  the  people  are  contented 
and  relatively  well-to-do.  The  northern  part  of  the 
state  of  Puebla  is  cut  up  into  tiny  farms,  every  foot 
of  rich  valley  "  bottom  "  land  being  utilized  for  rais- 
ing corn  and  beans.  The  country  here  is  very  moun- 
tainous, and  the  steepest  hillsides  are  dotted  with  patches 
of  corn.  Riding  along  in  the  valleys  one  can  look  up 
at  dizzy  heights  above  and  see  farms  perched  in  the 
most  impossible  positions.  An  incident  which  hap- 
pened at  the  town  of  Ilanchinango  will  give  an  idea  of 
the  character  of  the  country.  An  Indian,  with  one 
leg  fractured  and  three  ribs  broken,  was  brought  in 

273 


274     MEXICO  TO-DAY  A:NrD  TO-MORROW 

for  medical  treatment.  One  of  the  two  Indians  who 
had  carried  him  in  on  a  litter  gravely  explained  that 
the  man  had  been  working  on  his  corn  patch  but  had 
slipped  and  fallen  otf  his  farm  into  the  valley  below! 
In  a  district  like  this,  where  farming  on  a  small  scale 
has  been  carried  on  for  centuries,  every  man  could 
qualify  as  an  independent  farmer.  Unfortunately,  the 
great  bulk  of  farming  has  been  done  by  large  estates, 
some  of  these  employing  two  or  three  thousand  peons. 
The  laborers,  although  accustomed  to  farm  work,  have 
been  purely  mechanical  units  all  their  lives,  and  would, 
in  most  cases,  be  quite  helpless  if  turned  loose  to  work 
out  their  own  salvation  on  a  piece  of  land.  The  gov- 
ernment is  confronted,  therefore,  with  a  problem  which 
not  only  involves  some  sane  scheme  of  land  distribution 
but  also  the  selection  of  suitable  people  who  can  be 
depended  on  to  make  success  of  farming.  Senor  Don 
Carlos  Basave,  head  of  the  Caja  de  Prestamos  (the 
Agrarian  Loan  Bank)  believes  it  will  be  possible  to 
place  some  forty  thousand  men  on  small  farms  each 
year,  taking  some  from  districts  where  small  landhold- 
ings  have  been  common,  and  selecting  others  from  the 
ranks  of  foremen  and  sub-foremen  on  the  big  haciendas. 
lie  believes,  also,  that  it  will  be  essential  to  encourage 
immigration,  particularly  from  Spain  and  iSorthcrn 
Italy,  where  climatic  and  soil  conditions  are  similar  to 
those  in  Mexico.  Spanish  and  Italian  farmers  would 
not  only  prosper  and  add  to  National  wealth,  but  their 
example  would  stimulate  the  Indian  in  ideas  as  to 
farming.  It  i«  proposed  to  sell  land  in  tracts  of  vary- 
ing size  according  to  the  character  of  the  soil  and  cli- 
matic conditions.  In  the  semi-tropical  territory  where 
the  soil  is  rich  and  there  is  abundant  rainfall,  a  farm 
of  forty  acres  would  be  large  enough  for  an  average 
family,  while  in  the  north,  where  the  land  is  only  suit- 


AGKARIAN  AND  OTHER  PROBLEMS     275 

able  for  ranching,  grants  can  be  made  in  tracts  of  a  thou- 
sand acres  or  more.  Sefior  Basave  believes  that  dry 
farming  can  be  successfully  developed  on  a  large  scale. 
The  Caja  de  Prestamos  will  help  finance  the  small 
farmer,  advancing  enough  for  equipment  and  making 
small  monthly  loans  against  future  crops.  The  general 
lines  along  which  the  matter  is  being  developed  are 
sound.  Naturally,  however,  much  time  will  be  re- 
quired to  bring  about  tangible  results. 

Seiior  Zembrano,  governor  of  the  state  of  Nuevo 
Leon,  advocates  a  military  scheme  of  farming  in  order 
to  obtain  more  immediate  results.  He  believes  that  the 
large  tracts  of  idle  land  should  be  worked  by  the  In- 
dians under  a  scheme  by  which  the  laborers  would  be 
paid  ordinary  wages  and  would  receive,  in  addition,  a 
share  in  the  profits.  The  plan  would  be  handled  under 
government  supervision,  and  those  in  charge  could  com- 
pel idle  men  to  work.  This  would  not  only  bring  quick 
results  but  would  also  serve  the  purpose  of  training 
large  numbers  of  laborers  for  farm  work,  and  the  more 
efficient  could  be  selected  for  grants  of  land.  Such  a 
scheme  is  quite  feasible  and  could  easily  be  the  founda- 
tion of  a  great  agrarian  development.  This  or  some 
other  form  of  mobilization  of  the  agricultural  resources 
of  the  country  would  make  an  immense  addition  to  the 
wealth  of  the  nation,  would  help  solve  the  government's 
financial  problem,  and  would,  through  placing  a  great 
number  of  people  at  work,  stimulate  commerce  and  in- 
dustry. Mexico's  potential  wealth  in  agriculture  is 
immense.  Spain,  with  similar  conditions  of  soil,  cli- 
mate and  topography,  supports,  in  an  area  one-fourth 
that  of  Mexico,  twenty-six  million  people.  If  this  be 
taken  as  a  basis,  Mexico  could  support  a  hundred  mil- 
lion people,  and,  in  place  of  a  shortage  of  crops  for  her 
own  needs,  she  could  make  heavy  exports.     The  high 


276     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AIN'D  TO-MORROW 

prices  of  cereals  brought  about  by  war  conditions  are 
likely  to  continue  for  two  or  three  years  after  the  war, 
or  at  least  until  normal  conditions  of  transportation 
have  been  restored  and  depleted  stocks  are  brought  back 
to  normal.  It  will  be  regrettable  if  Mexico  fails  to  take 
advantage  of  the  situation. 

Spain's  agricultural  production,  especially  remark- 
able in  view  of  the  fact  that  two-thirds  of  the  country 
is  mountainous  or  sterile,  is  largely  due  to  irrigation. 
Mexico  has  many  great  areas  which  could,  at  compara- 
tively small  cost,  be  irrigated,  and  production  in  these 
areas  would  be  increased  four-fold.  Along  the  whole 
eastern  coast,  from  Puerto  de  Mexico  north  to  the 
American  border,  mountain  streams  tumble  down  from 
the  great  plateau  to  pour  into  the  gulf.  Great  stretches 
of  fertile  land,  at  an  elevation  of  one  thousand  feet  or 
more,  are  crossed  by  these  streams  and  could  be  easily 
irrigated.  The  land  would  have  a  supply  of  water 
throughout  the  whole  year  instead  of  depending  on 
rainfall  during  a  four-months'  wet  season.  The  flow 
of  the  Balsas  River,  turned  on  the  vast  area  of  flat  lands 
in  the  states  of  Guerrero  and  Michoacan,  in  Southwest- 
ern Mexico,  would  develop  the  region  into  one  of  the 
richest  agricultural  sections  of  the  country.  In  the 
north  half  a  dozen  rivers  could  be  utilized  to  water 
lands  which  now  produce  nothing.  Large  irrigation 
projects  would  involve  a  heavy  investment,  but  the  cost 
per  acre  would  be  very  small.  The  increased  produc- 
tion of  the  soil  would  add  an  immense  amount  to  the 
wealth  of  the  nation.  There  is  probably  no  country  in 
the  world  which  has  as  great  potential  possibilities  for 
agricultural  development,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
government  will  be  able  to  work  out  a  program  which 
will  result  in  placing  Mexico  in  the  front  rank  of  pro- 
ducing nations. 


AGEARIAIT  AJSTD  OTHER  PROBLEMS     27V 

The  peon  is  the  great  problem  of  Mexico.  The  pop- 
ular conception  of  the  Mexican  type,  based  on  hair- 
raising  "  movies  "  and  wild  tales  of  border  bandits,  is 
as  incorrect  as  the  general  notion  entertained  by  many 
"well-informed  Mexicans  that  the  native  Indian  is  a 
hopeless  proposition.  iS'ine-tenths  of  the  total  popula- 
tion belong  to  the  peon  or  humble  working  class.  Two- 
thirds  of  all  the  people  are  pure  Indians,  and  only  one- 
tenth  are  pure  white.  The  peon  class  varies  in  char- 
acteristics in  different  sections  of  the  country,  but,  in 
general,  submissivcness  and  docility  are  common  to  all 
the  tribes.  The  Indian  is  naturally  quiet,  serious,  and 
peaceful.  He  has  been  a  serf  so  long  that  he  does  no 
thinking  for  himself.  He' comes  to  his  employer  with 
all  his  little  troubles,  and  wants  sympathy  and  help. 
Like  a  child^  he  needs  restraint.  With  restraint  re- 
moved he  is  apt  to  get  into  mischief.  He  is  easy  to 
lead,  and  an  unscrupulous  leader  can  induce  him  to 
commit  atrocious  deeds.  His  wants  are  limited  —  a 
cotton  shirt,  a  pair  of  sandals,  a  zarape  (blanket),  and 
not  very  much  food.  He  is,  as  a  rule,  peculiarly  loyal 
to  the  man  he  is  serving,  and  will  go  through  any  amount 
of  hardship  and  suffering  with  him  or  for  him.  He  is 
affectionate,  and  lovable  —  no  one  can  have  much  to  do 
with  the  pure  Mexican  Indian  without  having  a  gen- 
uine affection  for  him.  He  is,  intellectually,  a  child. 
He  is  apt,  but  quite  undeveloped.  His  general  dispo- 
sition is  peaceful  and  submissive  to  a  degree  that  is  al- 
most pathetic.  He  will  starve  himself  and  see  his  fam- 
ily starve  around  him  without  uttering  a  word  of 
complaint  —  but,  given  the  upper  hand,  he  will  go  to 
excesses  by  way  of  getting  even.  The  idea  that  he  is 
warlike  and  bloodthirsty  by  nature  is  entirely  erroneous. 
The  testimony  of  disinterested  observers  is  that  the  pure 
Indian  type  played  an  insignificant  part  in  the  revolu- 


278     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORKOW 

tionary  movement.  The  pure  Mexican  Indian  is  not, 
bj  nature,  a  fighter.  He  wants  a  job  or  merely  a  chance 
to  till  his  patch  of  land  —  if  he  is  fortunate  enough  to 
have  one.  lie  is,  like  most  people  of  a  primitive  type, 
quite  indifferent  to  suffering,  and  has  little  regard  to 
the  value  of  human  life  —  his  own  or  that  of  any  one 
else.  For  years  it  was  the  custom  on  construction  jobs 
—  railways,  power  plants,  and  the  like  —  to  pay  fifty 
pesos  —  twenty-five  dollars  —  as  compensation  for  fatal 
accidents  to  employees.  Fifty  pesos  in  coin,  and  all  at 
once,  was  ample  compensation  for  the  loss  of  a  husband 
or  a  father.  The  average  Indian  mind  could  not  think 
more  than  fifty  pesos'  worth.  Small  wonder,  then,  that 
the  average  killing  was  an  incidental  affair. 

It  must  not  be  assumed,  however,  that  the  Indian  is 
in  any  way  deficient.  He  not  only  has  ability  along 
initiative  lines,  but  has,  and  always  has  had,  a  distinct 
ability  in  mechanical  matters.  The  history  of  early 
Mexican  civilization  shows  a  high  degree  of  inventive 
ability.  Stone  w^as  hewn  and  carved  with  wonderful 
ability  and  accuracy,  and  huge  blocks  of  stone  were 
moved  great  distances  or  erected  into  pyramids  and 
buildings  with  seemingly  comparative  ease.  Some 
American  engineers,  passing  through  the  valley  of  the 
Laxaxalpan  River,  in  the  state  of  Puebla,  came  across 
an  extremely  ingenious  device  used  by  an  Indian  to 
irrigate  his  land.  The  Indian's  corn  patch,  covering 
perhaps  ten  acres,  was  on  a  "  bench  "  some  fifteen  or 
eighteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  stream.  The  Indian 
had  rigged  up  a  huge  water-wheel,  some  thirty-five  feet 
in  diameter,  built  of  wood  and  i)amboo  and  carrying 
a  large  number  of  buckets,  the  latter  being  simply  five- 
gallon  gasoline  cans  obtained  from  the  nearest  town. 
The  force  of  the  stream  drove  the  wheel  around,  and 
each  bucket  scooped  up  a  couple  of  gallons  of  water. 


AGRAEIAI^  A:N"D  OTHER  PROBLEMS     279 

spilling  it  into  a  trough  when  the  bucket  reached  the 
top  of  the  wheel.  The  whole  device  was  crude  and 
simple,  and  was  tied  together  with  bits  of  thong,  hemp 
and  rope.  It  creaked  and  groaned  a  lot  —  but  the  In- 
dian, day  in  and  day  out,  had  a  steady  stream  of  water 
running  through  the  leng-th  of  his  little  farm.  The  In- 
dian said  the  idea  was  his  own,  and,  as  the  location 
was  in  a  remote  mountain  valley,  there  could  be  little 
doubt  but  that  he  was  entirely  truthful  in  this.  He 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  only  knew  a  little  of 
the  Spanish  langTiage,  speaking  practically  nothing  but 
the  native  Indian  dialect,  and  yet  he  had  devised  and 
installed  a  somewhat  cumbersome  but  very  practical 
means  of  raising  water. 

At  various  times  during  the  past  four  years  prac- 
tically all  Americans  have  been  obliged,  in  response  to 
orders  from  the  American  government,  to  leave  the 
country,  sometimes  very  precipitately.  At  such  times 
tramway  and  power  stations,  and  large  and  complicated 
mechanical  installations  at  mines  and  factories,  nor- 
mally operated  by  expert  American  mechanics,  had  to 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  Mexican  understudies.  When 
the  Americans  returned,  a  month  or  two  later,  they  al- 
most invariably  found  things  running  as  smoothly  as 
ever.  The  Mexican  "  subs,"  many  of  whom  had  come 
to  the  plants  perfectly  green  two  or  three  years  before, 
had  developed  sufficiently  to  fully  understand  all  the 
machinery,  and  had  been  equal  to  every  emergency 
which  had  arisen.  The  pure  Indian  race  has  produced 
civil  and  mechanical  engineers  who  would  take  good 
rank  in  any  country.  The  mind  of  the  Indian  lad  of 
eighteen  is  as  naturally  alert  as  that  of  any  American 
boy.  He  may  not  reason  as  quickly,  but  that  is  usually 
because  of  poor  schooling.  His  faculties  simply  need 
training.     Full  development  of  these  faculties,   when 


280     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AI^D  TO-MORROW 

applied  to  a  race,  means  patient  work  tlirougli  two  or 
three  generations.  Reforms  in  the  political  systems 
started  to-day  may  not  bear  fruit  for  many  years.  The 
general  problem  of  elevating  the  social  status  of  the  race 
will  occupy  public  and  private  attention  for  half  a 
century  before  anything  like  large  results  are  seen. 
Nevertheless,  a  start  has  been  made  along  these  lines, 
and  ultimately  much  will  be  accomplished.  The  chief 
danger  to  success  will  be  in  anxiety  to  do  much  in  too 
short  a  space  of  time,  with  a  consequent  tendency  to- 
ward superficial  instead  of  real  improvement.  Prof. 
Ozuna,  a  broad-minded  educator  who  has  already  accom- 
plished much  in  the  extension  of  education  in  Mexico, 
enrolling  over  75,000  pupils  in  the  grade  schools  in  the 
Federal  District,  once  observed  that  the  great  fault  of 
the  previous  regime  in  educational  matters  had  been 
in  considering  that  its  obligations  were  fulfilled  when 
a  fine  string  of  school  edifices  had  been  dedicated. 

The  Mexican  Indian  is,  in  most  respects,  where  he 
was  before  the  Spanish  conquest.  Such  civilization  as 
he  had  developed  was  wiped  out,  and  the  invaders  gave 
him  nothing  to  take  its  place.  For  three  hundred  years 
he  was  a  slave.  Mexican  independence  accomplished 
little  for  him  in  its  first  half  century.  The  French  oc- 
cupation was,  for  him,  a  blank,  and  the  period  following 
it  was  of  such  turmoil  and  disorder  that  no  progress  was 
made.  Then  came  a  period  of  great  development  under 
Diaz,  with  railways  and  factories  and  electricity  —  and 
still  the  Indian  stayed,  socially,  where  he  had  been  for 
centuries.  Then  came  the  Madero  revolution,  followed 
by  four  years  of  chaos,  from  which  has  emerged  a  gov- 
ernment committed  to  a  program  which,  if  carefully 
carried  out  and  adhered  to  year  after  year,  will  accom- 
plish much.  The  Indian  has  lost  four  centuries  of 
time.     His  national  development,  so  rudely  stopped  by 


AGEARIAK  A:NrD  OTHER  PROBLEMS     281 

Cortes,  must  now  be  resumed,  and,  aided  bj  other  civil- 
ization and  by  the  breadth  of  Twentieth  Century  prog- 
ress, must  give  him  an  opportunity  to  take  his  place 
with  other  peoples. 

Mexico,  as  a  country,  possesses  as  great  natural  wealth 
as  any  country  in  the  world.  Its  wealth  is  in  its  soil. 
An  English  statesman  once  said  that  a  country  whose 
wealth  was  in  the  soil  was  like  a  pyramid  with  a  gTeat 
base :  a  shock,  no  matter  how  great,  would  not  upset  it, 
and  could  only  do  superficial  damage.  Mexico  has  suf- 
fered, ever  since  1911,  from  more  or  less  continuous 
fighting,  has  had  every  sort  and  kind  of  disorder  and 
trouble,  and  has,  only  within  the  last  year,  shown  real 
signs  of  emerging  from  her  difiiculties.  Her  real 
wealth  has  not  been  affected.  Her  riches  are  in  wheat 
and  corn,  in  cattle,  oil,  hemp,  gold,  silver,  copper,  tim- 
ber, fruits,  coffee,  tobacco,  sugar,  chocolate,  and  a  thou- 
sand and  one  products  of  the  soil.  In  two  decades  she 
has  produced  a  billion  dollars'  worth  of  gold  and  silver. 
Her  oil  fields,  producing  eight  million  barrels  of  oil  per 
month,  have  potential  possibilities  of  producing  a  bil- 
lion barrels  of  oil  every  year.  Her  vast  forests  of  pine 
and  mahogany  have  sufficient  timber  to  supply  the  whole 
continent.  With  a  climate  which  makes  harvests  pos- 
sible the  year  around,  with  rich  soil  and  an  abundance 
of  streams,  she  has  the  means  to  produce  sufficient  crops 
to  feed  a  nation  six  times  as  great  as  her  own.  Eor  in- 
dustry she  has  iron  and  coal.  A  hundred  streams,  tum- 
bling down  a  mile  and  a  half  on  their  way  to  the  sea, 
have  potential  power  equal  to  half  a  dozen  Niagaras. 
She  is  rich  —  immensely  rich.  Few  countries  have 
such  recuperative  powers.  Her  period  of  reconstruc- 
tion is  just  begun.  Her  development  may,  at  first,  be 
slow,  but,  once  set  in  motion,  will  push  forward  at  an 
amazing  pace.     It  has  been  awakened  by  a  violent  ex- 


282     MEXICO  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MOEROW 

plosion.  The  forces  set  in  motion  have  not  yet  had 
time  to  take  any  definite  direction,  nor  has  the  nation 
had  time  to  adjust  its  thoughts  to  the  new  order  of 
things.  There  are  excesses,  there  are  extremes,  there 
are  a  dozen  great  problems  as  yet  unsolved.  The  pes- 
simist sees,  in  the  violence  of  the  change,  nothing  but 
a  halt  in  industry,  a  set-back  in  progress.  To  the  opti- 
mist the  revolution,  in  spite  of  all  its  ills,  means  the 
opening  of  a  new  era,  of  incentive  developing  initiative, 
and  initiative  pushing  forward  to  success. 


THE    END 


PBINTKD    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


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